I concur, mon amis. The corruption you described in the construction industry, by the way, also reaches into other aspects of Chinese manufacturing, and well beyond national borders. Lack of oversight and accountability has led to untold amounts of dangerous products being released into the American marketplace.

See:
Made Bad in China
Who Sucks? Blog

In this modern context, it’s important to remember that the international media has become just another industry, subject to the same selfish aspirations of capitalism, and readily corruptible. They’d much rather ’sell’ the story of a country coming together in a time of tragedy than the story (an old story now) of government-subsidized companies cutting corners to improve the bottom line. How do you make a sexy computer graphic with that? What kind of compelling soundtrack goes well with plutocratic villainy?

Government is an easy target, actually. To a limited extent so are the corporations that make money off death. But helping Chinese folks to take a more critical perspective on the things they see, hear, read, etc., well, that’s the real trick. Analyzing systems of information is not an inherent skill. It must be learned, which means it must be taught.

Honestly, that’s a problem in the so-called ‘developed’ world, as well. Why did we go to war in Iraq again? What did all those ‘embedded’ journalists say in the lead-up to invasion? Who’s making money off this whole adventure anyway? What news agencies are tied to what political agenda? Etc… Hmph.

Yep. Media literacy aint easy.