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United Nations: Two natural disasters in tightly controlled Asian nations have produced two very different responses: Myanmar's very slow response to Cyclone Nargis has sparked international outrage while China's speedy reaction to a killer earthquake has won international admiration.
Myanmar's military government, which has ruled with an iron first since 1962, has barred almost all foreign experts experienced in managing humanitarian crises, saying it would handle relief efforts on its own.
Study in contrast
But without equipment to even lift cargo off Boeing 747s and at least 1.5 million people left homeless or in need, the UN warned that Myanmar faces a monumental catastrophe unless relief efforts reach the scale of the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
China's communist government also said it was not allowing foreign aid workers into the area affected by Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake which wrecked towns across hilly stretches of Sichuan province though it would accept international aid for the tens of thousands left homeless.
But in contrast to Myanmar, China's government quickly moved into high-gear, sending soldiers and police into the disaster area with 30,000 more on the way by plane, train, truck and on foot because roads were impassable. The government was also mobilising food, clothes, tents and plastic sheeting for the victims and sent Premier Wen Jiabao to oversee relief efforts and comfort victims.
China's leaders appeared intent on reassuring the Chinese people and the world that they were in control of the biggest disaster to strike the country in three decades, and were ready for the August 8-24 Olympics in Beijing.
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