Emergency Management in China: Towards a Comprehensive Model?

Abstract

In the United States, the institutional structures and processes of emergency management have been infused with ideas of Comprehensive Emergency Management (CEM) and the so-called all hazards approach since the mid-1980s. China’s new emergency management system has moved to the direction of a more CEM-like system, though some scholars and professionals advocate an even more comprehensive system. This paper examines the applicability of three popular US characteristic CEM principles in China: all-hazard, all-phase and all-stakeholder involvement. We argue that [1] the FEMA like all-hazard coordinating ministry is not an indispensable option for China; [2] integrating all-phase management [especially mitigation phase] should not only be applied in post-catastrophes reconstructions, but also in prior disaster mitigation phases; [3] too much stake has been imposed on individual leaders in vertical governmental relations which hinders opportunities on trial and error learning after an emergency. Finally, we try to contribute to the extensions of the CEM concept after comparing applications in different political and administrative contexts, and provide tentative directions for China’s CEM model.

Keywords: Comprehensive Emergency Management [CEM], All hazards approach, China emergency management, comparison, applicability