THE most remarkable feature of the aftermath of the explosions in Tianjin, in northern China, has been the extraordinary contrast between the official reaction to the crisis, which has been profoundly flawed, and the online reaction, which has entirely dominated the agenda.
The prime minister, Li Keqiang (pictured), visited the scene of the destruction on Sunday, August 16th. Government officials, he said, had to have a “strong sense of responsibility” towards people’s lives and must act “without withholding information”. Fine words. The trouble was that Mr Li was accompanied by Yang Dongliang, the head of the state administration of work safety, a national body. Mr Yang was in charge of the investigation team in Tianjin and had spent 16 years working in the Tianjin government before being promoted. But today, August 18th, he was in disgrace and placed under investigation by the government’s anti-corruption body. It was a huge embarrassment to the government’s efforts to clean up the city. And it was...Continue reading
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