Two snow crises, one central challenge (China press spins)

[ben_meyers]

It so happens that while we in China are mobilized to fight the worst snow disaster in memory, many people in the United States are commemorating the 30th anniversary of another snow crisis.
Going down in history as the "Great Blizzard of 1978", the "white hurricane" that swept North America in late January and early February 30 years ago left many Americans with no power, no heat, and no transportation for days or weeks on end. People were trapped in their houses or offices or on roads. A state of emergency was declared in several states, and National Guard troops were called in to aid stranded people on highways.
Many Americans who lived through the blizzard have never forgotten it, nor will their Chinese counterparts forget their snow disaster 30 years later.
Statistics show that the 1978 blizzard caused $500 million in damages to Massachusetts alone. It is not yet known how much the ongoing snow disaster will cost China, but it is certain we will be hit harder since it struck right in the middle of the peak travel time for the country's most important festival. And the snowstorms have hit parts of the country where such weather is rare.

See it's not so bad, why look at what happened 30 years ago. Looks like the Chinese government has ordered up a little spin for the folks.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2008-02/05/content_6442675.htm

[kurth]

1. Typical of a regime that calls smog "haze"

or "fog". More benign-sounding.

[Doctor Cynic]

2. Just put things into perspective

The worst areas affected were in the south of China, with more than a foot dumped in places with a similar climate as the Deep South. It also happened that the storm came before the Chinese New Year holiday, when *everyone* tries to get home. It's even more unfortunate that because all the toy/pet foot/clothing factories are located in the worst affected areas, crowds developed.

Can you imagine 600,000 people camping out at ONE train station? That's exactly what happened, and the Chinese leadership knows that if those people starve then they could have a revolution in their hands.