In the face of the strongest quake to hit China in more than three decades, the governmental emergency response, in both disaster relief and dissemination of information, has never been faster, experts said.

QUICK MOVE

On a heated forum on the Sina.com website, when one Internet user tried to criticize the government over a slow response, another quickly replied: "Slow? Within one hour after the quake, the premier was on a flight to the quake-hit area. You call that slow?" The comment by IP 218.104.52.* got the "thumbs up" of support from 2,952 visitors.

"The government's quick and effective response was one of the most notable features that characterized the rescue and relief work this time," said Gao Jiawei, a professor with the China University of Political Science and Law.

The quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck Wenchuan County in southwest Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday. The shock was felt, to some degree, across most parts of the country.

A mere 90 minutes later, cell phone users got text messages that read: "President Hu Jintao urges utmost efforts to help quake victims; Premier Wen Jiabao on way to the quake area to direct rescue work."

Meanwhile, the national disaster relief commission and the military immediately initiated emergency response deployment. Two and a half hours after the quake, the disaster relief office of the China Seismological Bureau (CSB) had sent a 30-member rescue team.

Pan Guang, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said he had been closely watching the progress of the relief work since the quake.

"After the quake, the government immediately organized a high-level and targeted national emergency response system," he said.

"The quick move shows that China's emergency response mechanism is growing more flexible and effective, and the country has accumulated much experience," Gao said.