 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
As China milk scandal grows, leadership escapes blame
Beijing (AFP) Sept 24, 2008 As China's tainted milk scandal spread on Wednesday, there were few signs people were willing to blame the nation's top leadership despite evidence the health risks were covered up for months. Whether because of traditional deference to Beijing or clever state media management, public anger was directed more at second- and third-tier officials at the local level. Premier Wen Jiabao, in contrast, received kudos for visiting children's hospitals and hugging babies sickened by contaminated milk powder. "We should never try to pursue corporate profit or economic growth at the expense of health and life of people," Wen told an audience in New York during a visit to the UN General Assembly, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. China has said 53,000 children have been sickened by milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which is normally used to make plastics. It has led to four deaths so far and prompted a host of nations to ban, or at least scrutinise, Chinese dairy imports, further tarnishing the reputation of the "Made in China" label. Melamine, when added to milk, can make it appear richer in protein. China said Wednesday that a check of milk, yoghurt and other major liquid dairy products made since September 14 had shown no traces of melamine. The inspection of samples of 235 different products -- not including milk powder -- covered major brands such as Mengniu, Yili and Sanyuan, the product quality watchdog said in a statement posted on its website. In an editorial Wednesday, the China Daily said political leaders had succeeded in their crisis management to reassure the public while at the same time scaring local officials into more responsible behaviour. "The central authorities' high-profile intervention, highlighted by the personal involvement of the top leaders, and the exhaustive... treatment of the victims have worked well in calming the public," it said. "The treatment of delinquent public officials, on the other hand, conveys a much-needed message to both the public and public officials -- no one should expect kid gloves when things get really bad." The overseas ripples continued to spread, with the Philippines ordering tests on all infants hospitalised with kidney ailments to see if Chinese dairy products were to blame. Kenya and Burkina Faso became the latest countries to ban Chinese milk products, Italy stepped up checks on imports and British supermarket chain Tesco said it had taken some Chinese sweets off its shelves. More than a dozen countries have now ordered such bans or taken other steps to curb consumption. So far, the only four cases outside mainland China of children falling ill through tainted milk have been reported in Hong Kong. "The supervisory authorities should be blamed. How can you not submit food companies to inspection?" 64-year-old retiree Li Xiuhua told AFP, referring to a policy of exempting companies with a good track record from inspection. "On the other hand, I feel Premier Wen did quite well because he went to the grassroots level to see the situation for himself." The reaction reflects a Chinese cultural norm of not criticising the political elite, but also reflects lack of choice over the leadership, said Joseph Cheng, a China-watcher at City University of Hong Kong. "In the West, when something like this happens, the government may resign, you have a general election, and perhaps the opposition moves in. But in China, there is no credible alternative to the government," he said. Sanlu Group, the dairy firm first found to be selling melamine-contaminated goods, began receiving complaints of sick children as early as last December, according to a cabinet probe. The probe said Communist officials in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu is based, delayed referring the matter to higher authorities for over a month after Sanlu told them of the problem on August 2. The delay has moved some Chinese to see a link with the August 8-24 Olympics -- a period, they speculate, when a large part of the political establishment was wary of negative publicity. "Even if the government didn't want to disclose it to the international community because of the Olympics, they could at least have taken some quiet action to deal with it," a 35-year-old Beijing woman told AFP. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
Chinese armchairs linked to French eczema outbreak
Paris (AFP) Sept 17, 2008A French retailer said Wednesday it has withdrawn a range of Chinese-made armchairs and sofas from sale after hundreds of buyers complained of developing a painful eczema rash. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook