Outside of the lighthearted discussion for effect, I think that there is a little bit of an apples to oranges comparison between Everest and Whitney.
We send up SAR teams and helicopters because we can. Where it is absolutely true that life in China is often cheap as exemplified by the mining analogy (which is 100% true, btw), the real reason they don't remove the bodies on Everest is that it is truly life threatening to anyone who would take on the extra burden of the body. And sending ground teams up specifically for bodies or rescue is pretty tough when you take into account the amount of acclimation that must happen.
And the highest altitude that a helicopter has ever flown is 20,000'.
So, the reason we rescue people on Whitney and don't leave bodies up there is simply because we can.
