You've put into words the same feelings I've been having. Media like BBC and CNN have been remarkably restrained before throwing around accusations. In the early days, they were full of praise for the preparedness of the Japanese, their efficiency, their kindness.
But any time a disaster happens in China, they always assume the worst.
During the mudslide last year, people were coming up to say to me how the Chinese government needs to improve this, and they are corrupt that, even before the full details of the disaster were known. Every natural disaster became an exercise in China bashing and communist bashing. My friend came up to me and said how this mudslide proved that the Three Gorges Dam was a mistake, how it triggered the mudslide. The two aren't even in the same geographic area.
Now, I could assume the worst, and believe that this is nothing but political prejudice against communism. But, a more evenhanded view is that China has yet to develop a reputation for caring for its people and safety and environment, which Japan has, however imperfectly (as the nuclear disaster has shown).
So, it's important that the party continue to prepare for disasters, to timely perform disaster rescue, to evacuate citizens from war-torn countries. Developing an excellence in these area will take years if not decades, and only through deeds will we earn the respect of developed nations.
