On Monday, May 12th, there was a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in the Sichuan province that left more than 88,000 people dead or missing. Foreign aid in the form of supplies began to arrive the night of May 15, but foreign rescue teams were not allowed into Sichuan until May 16, well past the critical post-72 hours in which it is most possible to still find people alive. The Chinese only chose to let in teams were from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Russia. In the Chinese media, Chinese rescue teams were described as efficient and effective and the government was portrayed as openly welcoming international aid. In the foreign media, the coverage was not as plainly positive, describing Chinese rescue teams as unequipped and unprepared and the Chinese attitude towards foreign aid as selective and political. Still, the Chinese response to the earthquake did show increased openness and transparency, thus opening the door for future cooperation in international relief efforts.   2008/08/19 06:53 PM