CHINESE AUTHORITIES face growing public fury over the high-speed train crash that killed at least 38 people and injured 192, with the disposal of wreckage and attempts to control coverage of the incident prompting allegations of a cover-up.
The railways ministry has apologised for the collision in eastern Zhejiang province and announced an inquiry. Spokesman Wang Yongping added: “China’s high-speed rail technology is up to date and up to standard, and we still have faith in it.”
Internet users attacked the government’s response to the disaster after authorities muzzled media coverage and urged reporters to focus on rescue efforts. “We have the right to know the truth!” wrote one microblogger called kangfu xiaodingdang. “That’s our basic right!”
Leaked propaganda directives ordered journalists not to investigate the causes and footage emerged of bulldozers shovelling dirt over carriages.
Mr Wang, the railways spokesman, said no one could or would bury the story. He said a colleague told him the wreckage was needed to fill in a muddy ditch to make rescue efforts easier.
But Hong Kong University’s China Media Project said propaganda authorities had ordered media not to send reporters to the scene, not to report too frequently and not to link the story to high-speed rail development.
“There must be no seeking after the causes [of the accident], rather, statements from authoritative departments must be followed,” said one directive. Another ordered: “No calling into doubt, no development [of further issues], no speculation, and no dissemination [of such things] on personal microblogs!”
Officials also ordered more coverage of “extremely moving” stories, such as blood donations, and said the overall theme should be “great love in the face of great disaster”.
Beijing sees high-speed rail as a matter of national prestige, highlighting China’s development, but critics appear to see the disaster as symptomatic of the country’s problems. Internet users repeatedly described the crash as a man-made, not a natural disaster, and blamed officials. “When a country is so corrupt that one lightning strike can cause a train crash . . . none of us is exempt. China today is a train rushing through a lightning storm . . . we are all passengers,” ran one of the most frequently forwarded comments on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo service.
The breakneck pace of the massive project had already caused safety concerns. In just a few years Beijing has built the world's largest high-speed network, with 10,500 miles completed or under construction. The former railways minister Liu Zhijun, one of the project's keenest champions, was sacked in February for "serious disciplinary violations" – a phrase usually indicating corruption allegations. – ( Guardianservice)