JOURNAL OF DEFENCE STUDIES

The Chinese Disaster Management Mechanism

Dr Sheo Nandan Pandey has richly contributed to area studies, in particular Hanxue (Sinology), Defence and Security Studies, Education, and Meta-evaluation. Before superannuating as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), he served in Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Human Resources Development, and the Ministry of Defence. He is fluent in modern standard Chinese (Pǔtōnghuà).

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Sheo Nandan Pandey

January 2012

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Geographic position, climatic features, and geological structures cause natural disasters in almost cyclical order in China. Man-made disasters such as the SARS epidemic add a new dimension to the over all woe of a nation which is home to 18.5 per cent of the world population. The paper explores the extent of the face lift achieved by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from once being known as the “Land of Famines” and the “Land of Death”, and, in particular, the positive contribution of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the whole gamut of disasters. The findings highlight the otherwise avoidable chinks in the Chinese model..