It really started when they launched the rocket

KAI RYSSDAL: Farmers in southwest China are trying to scrape out a harvest in the middle of the worst drought that country's seen in 50 years. Two-thirds of the rivers have dried up. And 18 million people are short of drinking water. It's a natural disaster that would challenge any First World country. But China's a developing economy...

Hope Weiner works for the International Red Cross. She says in the past three years aid for victims of natural disasters in China has dried up.

HOPE WEINER: "It really started to happen when they launched the rocket."

The rocket that put China's first man into space.

WEINER: "2003 was the last year we were able to get assistance fairly easily for China. After that it just seemed that all we're getting is 'China is so rich they can handle that, China is so rich they can handle that.'"

Weiner says aid donors who balk at giving help because of China's 9 percent growth rate aren't doing the math.

WEINER: "I challenge anyone to take that figure and compare it with 800 million rural poor. What you're talking about is a population twice the size of the U.S. living on $2 or less a day."

As I said, I'm skeptical that there are quite that many Chinese living at that level. Still, there are probably a lot.

On the other hand, aside from problems with their wasting the money on corruption, giving them charity means supporting their Manned space flight, their hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics (at $17 billion to $23 billion), not to mention the money the Chinese spend on their military: $55,910,000,000 (over 4% of GDP, versus a little over 2% spent on education). (Yes, the US spends five times as much on our military, and more per capita, but then we're not asking for handouts from the Chinese...yet.)