WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- Thirty or so years ago, the phrase "China Syndrome" was the battle cry of the more radical elements opposing nuclear power. The meaning was clear. A catastrophic nuclear reactor failure here would melt all the way through the Earth and end up in China -- a warning that was as ludicrous as it was dead wrong.

Today, the disastrous earthquake in China's Sichuan province yields a newer meaning to that phrase. Given China's response to this great tragedy, "China Syndrome" could easily mean competence and compassion. Because, unless the Chinese exercised masterful control of media reporting, foreign as well as domestic, every indication is that their government and public dealt with this swath of death and destruction professionally, compassionately and with dignity -- attributes that were not all present in how this nation handled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of New Orleans. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao immediately flew to the region to take personal charge. More than 50,000 People's Liberation Army soldiers, along with other rescue workers, were deployed to Sichuan. Reportedly, 5,000 soldiers were parachuted in.

The video images recorded the destruction, from tiny villages to the city of Chengdu. While the death toll continues to climb as more bodies are recovered from the rubble, at least 40,000 perished so far. The soldiers and rescue workers appeared well prepared, well equipped and anxious to provide aid. The media carried dozens of stories about the rescue effort and individuals who were tireless and unflinching in saving survivors and giving comfort and solace. The entire nation was fixated on the disaster and rallied to lend support. All of this was obvious from the reporting on television and in the press.

At a time when the military junta ruling Burma remained oblivious to the destruction wrought by Cyclone Negus and rejected offers of outside assistance, China was the polar opposite. Given the very negative press China was getting over Tibet and the Dalai Lama and the international pressure to move or sanction the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing in August, the response to this earthquake seemed surprising. After all, the general perception in the West of any autocratic regime is its indifference to its people. That surely was not the case.

Why China responded the way it did to this disaster and why the United States responded the way it did to Katrina will make an interesting topic for journalists and political scientists. Unlike the United States, where, given the many competing political and organizational jurisdictions among cities, states and Washington and police and emergency services, no one was really in charge in New Orleans, such problems and realities did not hamper China's rescue effort. And so far there has been no Chinese equivalent of FEMA's former head Michael Brown, immortalized by President George Bush's accolade, "You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie!"