NATIONAL, NEWS, EDITORIAL: More Lethal Than Spill: Lies
By Duan Kun (Justin Alex)
It's disturbing that two years after the trauma of SARS, and right in the middle of the bird flu pandemic, the Chinese government, at least at the provincial level, still does not know how to respond promptly and properly to a public emergency.
At a time when China wants to build a transparent government along with its credibility in the world, the last thing that the Chinese government should do is hide the truth of a chemical spill in the Songhua River from the public.
It's now known that the local and provincial officials learned about the accident hours after the explosion of a petrol chemical plant in Jilin. Yet weighing the consequences, they chose to save face first rather than the 8 million lives at stake in Harbin. They held up the truth for as long as eight days; only after they received orders from the central government did they reveal the spill to the public.
Apart from their belated response to the spill, local officials even lied about the cause of the water cut-off in Harbin, trying to cover up what was otherwise an acceptable accident. They lied to the citizens that the water system had to be shut down for four days because of pipeline repairs. Then two days later they suddenly told the truth. By that time, the harm was already done. Contradicting accounts for the water stoppage from city officials fueled the rumor of an imminent earthquake. Confused and desperate, thousands of people in Harbin fled the city in panic.
It's now also exposed that local officials in Jilin, in an early attempt to cover up the explosion, even released reservoir water to dilute the spill, only to accelerate the spread of fatal chemicals, including benzene, down the Songhua River. Thanks to their irresponsible and reckless action, now we have Russia pointing a finger at us, and the whole world questioning our country's credibility.
Times of public emergencies test the true competence and conscience of a government. When disaster strikes, the government should be the one to dispel the public's concerns and keep everything in order, certainly not the one to arouse concerns, much less public panic.
As this humiliating incident shows, irresponsible local government can be the source of people's plague. Any government should know better than to trifle with people in distress. Hiding truth from people will eventually and inevitably backfire, bringing even greater discredit to the Party and the Chinese government.
At a time when the Chinese Communist Party seeks support and legitimacy from the public, there is no better occasion than responding responsibly and effectively to a public emergency, be it mine explosion, flood, earthquake or epidemic.
It's disturbing that two years after the trauma of SARS, and right in the middle of the bird flu pandemic, the Chinese government, at least at the provincial level, still does not know how to respond promptly and properly to a public emergency.
At a time when China wants to build a transparent government along with its credibility in the world, the last thing that the Chinese government should do is hide the truth of a chemical spill in the Songhua River from the public.
It's now known that the local and provincial officials learned about the accident hours after the explosion of a petrol chemical plant in Jilin. Yet weighing the consequences, they chose to save face first rather than the 8 million lives at stake in Harbin. They held up the truth for as long as eight days; only after they received orders from the central government did they reveal the spill to the public.
Apart from their belated response to the spill, local officials even lied about the cause of the water cut-off in Harbin, trying to cover up what was otherwise an acceptable accident. They lied to the citizens that the water system had to be shut down for four days because of pipeline repairs. Then two days later they suddenly told the truth. By that time, the harm was already done. Contradicting accounts for the water stoppage from city officials fueled the rumor of an imminent earthquake. Confused and desperate, thousands of people in Harbin fled the city in panic.
It's now also exposed that local officials in Jilin, in an early attempt to cover up the explosion, even released reservoir water to dilute the spill, only to accelerate the spread of fatal chemicals, including benzene, down the Songhua River. Thanks to their irresponsible and reckless action, now we have Russia pointing a finger at us, and the whole world questioning our country's credibility.
Times of public emergencies test the true competence and conscience of a government. When disaster strikes, the government should be the one to dispel the public's concerns and keep everything in order, certainly not the one to arouse concerns, much less public panic.
As this humiliating incident shows, irresponsible local government can be the source of people's plague. Any government should know better than to trifle with people in distress. Hiding truth from people will eventually and inevitably backfire, bringing even greater discredit to the Party and the Chinese government.
At a time when the Chinese Communist Party seeks support and legitimacy from the public, there is no better occasion than responding responsibly and effectively to a public emergency, be it mine explosion, flood, earthquake or epidemic.
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