Reply #7: 1.5 Billion people could mount a movement. [View All]

[Why Syzygy]

It wouldn't have to be an all out war. Necessarily.

AP has a story too:

China quake inspires citizens to seek bigger role

By WILLIAM FOREMAN – 18 hours ago

PENGZHOU, China (AP) — Liu Jin was studying law in Shanghai when he heard that an earthquake tore through one of the country's poorest provinces. Moved by scenes of misery, he flew to the disaster zone thousands of miles away to help the victims.

Liu, a 22-year-old student in China's richest city, said his parents "thought the government and military could handle the disaster."

Instead, he joined tens of thousands of volunteers who may be part of a fundamental shift in the world's most populous nation.

In the wake of China's deadliest disaster in a generation, many did not wait for signals from the authoritarian government to act. With money and mobility brought by 30 years of free market reforms, Chinese mobilized spontaneously and headed for the earthquake zone.

It's a switch from the past when people stood on the sidelines waiting for dictates from the Communist Party-led government. They were mobilizing en masse and setting their own agenda — behavior that might be worrisome to a Beijing leadership that still likes to control the public.

Some volunteers organized members of their SUV clubs to deliver food and medicine over rugged roads. Others showed up at Red Cross stations to load trucks with crates of bottled water while chanting, "Go China!" Some sat in hospital rooms with recently orphaned children.

Liu and his classmates helped staff medical tents in the remote mountain town of Bailu. As he bounded over the debris of a wrecked farm house, Liu said the outpouring of volunteers was a historic moment that will change China.

"I think people will unite even better in the future," said Liu.

"We volunteers have made a lot of friends," he said. "If another disaster happens, we'll be able to organize faster in the future."

Such a comment might make the Communist Party nervous. If citizens get savvy about organizing for disasters, they can use the same skills and tools to round up support for an anti-government cause.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gIP_CEl8pr-91lwlIPTeqdEYKuVAD90S5GQ01