While catching up on the tragedy in Haiti, I came across a disturbing fact buried underneath the disarray of updates, unfortunate testimonies & wretched b-roll footage of lives lost to the forbidding mother we call nature. Although any timely aid is generous in a catastrophe as devastating as the Haitian earthquake, I was confused at the unsubstantial amount sent by the Chinese government(especially when compared to the amount given by the normally self-absorbed area I live in--Orange County, CA).
Today Chinese President Hu JIntao promised to promptly send a team of rescue workers, numbered at 50, to bring along $1 million dollars in aid. While this may be a preliminary pledge, I found it odd that as a world power, their first headline making offering was less than that of Orange County, California. This usually self-serving county, pledged 80 trained workers to aid in recovery efforts, joining 5,000 american troops and $100 million in initial American aid.
A great, albeit pathetic, indicator of pettiness is when Orange County exceeds you in of all things, charity. I bet there's plenty of Chinese business men who deftly throw down a million at the Spearmint Rhino yearly.
No comments:
Post a Comment