Danwei Picks is a daily digest of the "From the Web" links found on the Danwei homepage. A feed for the links as they are posted throughout the day is available at Feedsky (in China) or Feedburner (outside China).

Leverage civil groups to combat emergencies: At the China Media Project, David Bandurski looks at an op-ed in the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily that suggests that China needs the support of non-governmental organizations to fight crisis situations:

The Yanzhao Metropolis Daily editorial is probably right that China could deal more effectively with emergency situations by permitting the growth of an active civil society. But Chinese leaders are terrified of the political implications of a society of do-gooders and people who actively care. Which is why veteran journalist Zhai Minglei asked rhetorically after the shutdown of Minjian last year: "What is the most difficult thing to do in China? The good deed."

"The Chinese people have never lacked good-hearted individuals or the force of charitable action," Shu Shengxiang writes. "What they do lack is institutional support (制度安排) for the effective mobilization of charitable action and giving."

Lunar new year approaches with tragedy growing: At Global Voices Online, John Kennedy news and videos that China's netizens have posted about the current weather conditions, particularly in Guizhou Province.

Cold Chinese grow angry over lack of preparation: Howard French writes about crisis management in the New York Times:

In southeastern Guizhou, another hard-hit area, officials said there had been extensive loss of winter crops, like wheat. Power has been out there for weeks.

"In towns and villages life now depends on primitive means," said Lu Jiang, a spokesman for Southeast Qian Prefecture. "We get light from burning pine, and families grind grains with stone mortars. It’s not difficult to survive, but to live the way we did before the snow began, we will have to wait until the next season."