Post#2_China deadly train crash

UAS TODAY: A bullet train was traveling from the Hangzhou to Fuzhou on Saturday evening when it lost power in a lightning strike and stalled, then being hit from behind by the second train( Beijing to Fuzhou) and derailed in Wenzhou city. The death toll is 43 and 211 people are injured. It also compares this accident to the one on April 2008, which leaving 72 dead and another 416 injured. Railways Minister Liu Zhijun was dismissed this spring and being investigated into unspecified corruption allegations. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-07-23-China-Train-Crash_n.htm

NY TIMES: The Chinese government announced that three senior officials in the Railway Ministry had been fired because of the train crash accident in Wenzhou. Some reports on the microblogging site Sina Weibo(Chinese version of Twitter and Facebook) saying that ministry was burying the broken trains near the accident site, which the ministry claimed the trains contain “national level” technology that could be stolen. However, other foreign companies have been complaining the technology is actually stolen from them. It is more concerned about safety issues and the government tempts to cover up any kind of disaster. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/world/asia/25train.html?_r=1&ref=world

BBC: China has fired three senior railway officials following a high-speed train crash that left 35 people dead. The accident raises serious concerns about the reliability, and the technology level of the railway. However, according to the Railway Ministry spokesman - Wang Yongping( 王勇平) that this is just an isolated accident, " I should still say to people that China's high-speed rail technology is up to date and up to standard, and we still have faith in it." The investors certainly have lost their faith, the company that made the trains- China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp Limited, the shares has dropped 16% and hit the lowest point in 12 months on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China Northern Locomotive, another key player in the sector, its shares fall 6.5% in Shanghai. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14271163

All the press above does not harshly criticize on the Chinese government, they are more focus on safety reliability and economic affection. In the other hand, many Taiwanese press are heavily criticize on the government corruptions, hiding the real reason of how the accident happened and the numbers of how many people actually died and injured in the accident. They also dig out what the spokesman Railway Ministry, Wang Yongping, was bragging about how advance is the Chinese railways system, its even beyond the Japanese Shinkansen (a network of high speed rail lines in Japan on which the famous Bullet Trains run). The press in Asia also have serious doubts about China building railways so fast if the safety measure is really concerned. People are worried that since China desperately wants to catch up with rest of the world, if the development is too rapidly? http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/110725/5/2vo2a.html

One blogger posted on Weibo on Sunday "China, please stop your flying pace, wait for your people, wait for your soul, wait for your morality, wait for your conscience! Don’t let the train run out off track, don’t let the bridges collapse, don’t let the roads become traps, don’t let houses become ruins. Walk slowly, allowing every life to have freedom and dignity. No one should be left behind by our era.”http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/world/asia/25train.html?_r=1&ref=world

Another blogger who is also a reporter and writer, showing this picture on Weibo. It is a agenda-setting instruction of how press should handle the train crash accident from central government publicity department. http://weibo.com/georgeschen

saying that do not send local press to the scene, follows the Railway Ministry press and do not cover any news about railway development.

Additional request for press: 1. the death and injured number will be given by the authority department. 2. Do not appear on the news too often. 3. Giving more coverage of other warm and touchy stories, ex: donating blood and taxi drivers didn't charge the passengers. 4. Do not dig in the reason how this accident happened; only gives the information that has been approved by the authority department.