A propaganda fight is breaking out over disaster relief, and it makes Beijing look bad and Taiwan look good.

• Chinese troops sent to flood-hit Guangxi are accused of posing for cameras instead of actually clearing mud and rubble.
• The comparison being drawn is with Taiwan's "shovel heroes" — ordinary people who showed up with their own tools to dig out flooded towns.
• The point is political: one side mobilizes an army for the image, the other mobilizes citizens who volunteer on their own.
• Disaster response has become a way to score points in the wider fight between Beijing and Taipei over which system works better.

Outlook: Expect both sides to keep using flood and typhoon relief as a showcase, with Beijing pushing back on claims that its rescue work is staged.