China, the "growing superpower" in the world, should be ashamed of the amount of aid they have offered the Philippines. They initially offered $100,000. They were then shamed into offering $1.6M. To put that in perspective, it's less than the Swedish furniture company Ikea offered, and way less than the USA offered ($37M + an aircraft carrier + dozens of planes and ships). -------------------------- China’s aid for Philippines dwarfed by that of US, private companies It’s been spending tens of billions of dollars to become the most powerful regional military force, in a bid to rival America as the world’s superpower. It’s the second-largest economy in the world – and happens to be the Philippines’ neighbor. But in the wake of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, China has coughed up less for the Philippines than some private companies. The Chinese government so far has pledged $1.6 million. And that was only after Beijing caught flak for its original aid sum: a paltry $100,000. Compare that with the aid offered by the United States and several other countries. The U.S. government originally pledged $20 million in aid, and dispatched the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the region. Thanks to additional pledges of support, the U.S. aid sum is now more than $37 million. Dozens of U.S. ships and planes are in the region to help. China’s offering threw in sharp relief how the country approaches foreign aid, compared with other wealthy nations. Though China is growing rapidly and is emerging as a major world power, both economically and militarily, it rarely leads when it comes to responding to disasters beyond its own borders. Even with China’s additional commitment, the sum is still less than the $2.7 million offered by Swedish furniture company IKEA. Within China, there was some dissent over the nation's initial aid amount. China's Global Times wrote in an editorial that the country must not be "absent in the international relief effort" -- despite an ongoing dispute with the Philippines over the South China Sea. "It's a must to aid typhoon victims in the Philippines despite Haiyan having also battered China's coastal regions and bilateral tensions over the South China Sea disputes," the editorial said. "China, as a responsible power, should participate in relief operations to assist a disaster-stricken neighboring country, no matter whether it's friendly or not. China's international image is of vital importance to its interests. If it snubs Manila this time, China will suffer great losses." The need in the Philippines remains great. The official death toll in the Philippines is nearing 4,000; more than 18,000 were injured in the typhoon. Sprawling areas of the country have been affected, and more than a half-million homes have been damaged. The total damage is estimated at nearly $240 million. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...ippines-dwarfed-by-that-us-private-companies/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...28-percent-of-the-budget-goes-to-foreign-aid/ The budget myth that just won’t die: Americans still think 28 percent of the budget goes to foreign aid I love this issue. thanks for bringing it up. If we can shame the Chinese to give more (they should), we should shame ourselves too as members of developed OECD countries. shame for good
The company I work for gave more to the Moore Tornado relief than China has to this. Granted we are an OKC based company, but still.
Bro, don't get too patriotic and holier than thou over an out of context issue. The US does this to keep trade routes flowing smoothly for a financial end game, not generosity. Foreign aid and corporate aid are business transactions for entities that rely on PR. China doesn't put up that front and attempt to the control the world in doing so. End of
China earned that money, if they don't want to pay high taxes, I mean donate to the relief, they don't have to. That's their money.
Definitely china came off looking bad here. For the US having the carrier assist in relief operations means more than any country's individual contribution. The most urgent problem is getting aid there in time. I'm sure nothing comes close in terms of lives saved per dollar spent.
China's response is disgraceful. The attitude evidenced in the response quoted is common wrt to private charity for many problems. Here as we often see private charity is no substitute for well funded governments and the aid they can give.
That actually might not be that far from the truth. This was mentioned in the Hangout thread on Supertyphoon Haiyan but on the Chinese Blogosphere many Chinese are saying they are against aid to the Philippines because they have regional conflicts with them. As I said though in that thread if the PRC wants to be a major power they will have to understand that playing a large role in disaster response is one of the requirements.
Not letting the PRC off the hook but they can't render the same amount and type of aid that the US can. The PRC still doesn't have much of a blue water navy and currently only one aircraft carrier. They don't have the resources to undertake a large scale response like the US Navy can.
as a former colony, the philippines is within our circle of influence and it's an opportunity to get more US troops stationed there now……which is a hostile situation towards china of course http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Secu...ippines-could-grow-after-typhoon-Haiyan-video
What's the big deal? If Iran got hit by an earthquake, I wouldn't see the US rushing out to dole aid to them. Given the tense relations between China and the Phillipines, it makes perfect sense for them not to donate. Hell, how much did China give Japan after the Sendai earthquake?
Well, that's 1 million less they can spend building fake cities... China is floating on a bubble far larger than anything the US has had to endure.
Isn't it un-American to complain about handouts? Yea, it'd be nice, but in the end, it's their earned money eh? And for the record, I think the 1% we're giving out to other countries is too much.
Actually the US gave aid to Iran when an earthquake hit Bam Iran in 2003. The PRC gave $9.2 mil. to Japan for the Sendai earthquake and Japan gave $9.6 mil in aid to the PRC for the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake.
