ABSTRACT
On 12 May 2008, an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale hit Wenchuan and its neighbouring towns in Sichuan province, killing upwards of 70,000 people and leaving millions homeless. For two weeks after the quake, China Central Television (CCTV) covered the rescue and relief efforts live, 24 hours a day. Dramas of survival were emotionally powerful and morally uplifting, and viewers were moved to tears by countless examples of selflessness and heroism. A nation of television viewers, including survivors of the earthquake, was overwhelmed by the unconditional support shown by both individual citizens and the central government. One week after the earthquake, on 18 May, the network hosted an evening-long television event titled Dedication of Love: Raising Funds for Victims of the Earthquake. Musical performances were interspersed with a seemingly endless procession of celebrities, most of them household names, filing past the camera and, with both hands, slipping an envelope containing money through a slot in the large donation box onstage. To the tune of songs such as ‘We are All Brothers and Sisters’ and ‘Let Love Fill the World’, the programme’s hosts waxed lyrical: ‘Let the spring breeze of harmony sweep across the entire nation, for it’s our Party and socialism that see us through these difficult times.’ After viewing such a spectacle, one could be forgiven for thinking that,
thanks to three decades of economic reform and market liberalization, China enjoys unprecedented harmony despite stratified socio-economic interests and rural-urban inequalities. Viewers saw images of grateful rural folk being saved by brave soldiers and generously helped by city residents. Nobody was encouraged to remember that, not long before the earthquake, the same people – mostly from disenfranchised rural communities – were battling with exorbitant agricultural taxes, inadequate welfare, sub-standard infrastructure and schools, mounting educational costs, and a lack of affordable public medical care. The names of the earthquake-affected counties, such as Wenchuan and Mianyang, previously imagined as little more than povertystricken supply zones for cheap labour to large urban centres, were now a metaphor for national solidarity.
