Idaho Statesman Logo

Chinese skeptical of explanation for high-speed rail crash | Idaho Statesman

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Boise
    • West Ada
    • Canyon County
    • Crime
    • State News
    • Nation/World News
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Idahoans in the Military
    • Weather
    • Traffic
    • Helping Works
    • In the Classroom
    • Our Community
    • Sports
    • Boise State Football
    • Boise State Basketball
    • Idaho Vandals
    • High Schools
    • Bronco Beat
    • Chadd Cripe
    • Varsity Extra Blog
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • NHL
    • MLB
    • Golf
    • Idaho Politics
    • Elections
    • Government and Business
    • Capitol & State
    • Letters from the West
    • National Politics
    • Business
    • Business Insider
    • Business Columns & Blogs
    • Personal Finance
    • Legal Notices
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Bill Manny
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Guest Opinion
    • Submit a Letter or Opinion
    • Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Arts and Culture
    • Festivals
    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie Showtimes
    • Music
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Puzzles
    • Words & Deeds
    • ArtsBeat
    • Outdoors
    • Playing Outdoors Blog
    • Biking
    • Camping
    • Fishing
    • Hiking and Trails
    • Hunting
    • Winter Recreation
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Treasure
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Best of Treasure Valley
    • Heart of the Treasure Valley
    • Margaret Lauterbach
    • Tim Woodward
    • Carolyn Hax
  • Obituaries

  • Contests
  • Advertise
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

News

Chinese skeptical of explanation for high-speed rail crash

Tom Lasseter - McClatchy Newspapers

    ORDER REPRINT →

July 26, 2011 11:07 AM

BEIJING — Public criticism grew Tuesday in China over the government's explanation for the weekend crash of two high-speed trains that killed at least 39 people and injured more than 190.

The brewing dissatisfaction offered a rare challenge to China's reputation for being able to build massive infrastructure at a rapid clip.

The high-speed rail system is planned to reach some 10,000 miles by 2020, and spending reportedly has reached $100 billion a year — a grand project meant to convey the nation's rise as a regional and world power.

Instead, after the accident Saturday, when one train rear-ended another, the government was forced to announce a full investigation and then on Tuesday to unveil a two-month, nationwide safety review of its railways.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Those measures did little to silence discontent, however. Some Chinese who are following the situation expressed doubts about the official explanation for the accident, that a freak lightning strike caused the lead train to stall, setting up a following train to plow into it. Others have asked: Even if that was the case, why wasn't the second train signaled to stop?

Beyond the specifics of the crash Saturday night in the coastal province of Zhejiang, there are broader concerns about corruption and mismanagement that have come to plague the Chinese Railways Ministry. Its former head, Liu Zhijun, was removed from his job in February after accusations that he'd taken kickbacks of more than $122 million.

Suspicions that the bullet trains are at times unreliable were buttressed Tuesday when state media confirmed that more than 20 trains running on the brand-new Beijing to Shanghai route were delayed Monday because of power failures.

The Chinese government's immediate response to Saturday's train accident appears to have been a familiar one: directives to domestic news media setting narrow boundaries for what can be reported.

"Do not investigate the causes of the accident; use information released from authorities," was one of the instructions for Chinese reporters, according to China Digital Times, a website that regularly publishes similar dictates that it says have been leaked.

Another directive admonished that "reporting of the accident is to use 'in the face of great tragedy, there's great love' as the major theme. Do not question. Do not elaborate."

Chinese Internet users weren't similarly constrained.

An unscientific online survey on Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging service, received 52,447 votes for the crash being the result of human failure — presumably through incompetence or faulty equipment, oversight or use — versus just 648 that favored a force-of-nature explanation. The tally was as of Tuesday afternoon.

Chinese Web users also expressed outrage at photographs that showed parts of the damaged trains being torn apart and buried at the site, a step they worried would preclude a detailed investigation.

"The claimed reason of lightning and thunder is complete nonsense," said one Weibo user who identified himself as Zhou Hansong from Heilongjiang province, in the north of China.

Another poster, who didn't give his or her name, said, "I don't believe what the Party says," referring to China's Communist Party.

A story Tuesday in English-language state media, which most Chinese don't read, noted that reassurances by a railways spokesman "seemed to have little effect on the public's shattered confidence."

The China Daily quoted one passenger, Lei Fulong, who was about to travel by bullet train: "I will look out for the emergency exits and the safety hammer when I get on."

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Death toll in crash of bullet trains in China reaches at least 35

China's bullet trains separate the rich from the poor

Is Three Gorges Dam making China's worst drought in decades worse?

Follow McClatchy on Twitter.

  Comments  

Videos

Tim Eyman under investigation in theft of chair from Lacey Office Depot

Washington music teacher sings ‘Snow Day’ after classes are called off -- again

View More Video

Trending Stories

Farmers market to leave heart of Downtown Boise. Here’s where it’s going, and why

February 15, 2019 04:13 PM

4 Boise teens arrested, arraigned for suspected rape of 18-year-old

February 15, 2019 11:10 AM

Gene Simmons surprises Idaho’s biggest KISS fan (while he’s working at Arctic Circle)

February 15, 2019 04:34 PM

Idaho taxpayers’ tab for lawsuits just grew another $1.8M, up to more than $5M since 2012

February 15, 2019 08:48 AM

Big subdivisions in Nampa and Kuna. Apartments in Boise. See what’s coming near you

February 15, 2019 11:05 AM

Read Next

Chicago police: Jussie Smollett assault case has ‘shifted’

Entertainment

Chicago police: Jussie Smollett assault case has ‘shifted’

By GREG MCCUNE The Associated Press

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 16, 2019 10:55 PM

Chicago police say Jussie Smollett investigation has shifted; actor's attorneys blast reports he played a role in the attack.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE NEWS

The Latest: Smollett says no truth he played role in attack

Entertainment

The Latest: Smollett says no truth he played role in attack

February 16, 2019 10:19 PM
One of Boise’s most unique houses is for sale. Here’s a peek inside.

Treasure

One of Boise’s most unique houses is for sale. Here’s a peek inside.

February 16, 2019 07:21 PM
Police: Aurora attacker used gun he shouldn’t have owned

Business

Police: Aurora attacker used gun he shouldn’t have owned

February 16, 2019 04:42 PM
The Latest: CEO: Gunman passed background check when hired

Business

The Latest: CEO: Gunman passed background check when hired

February 16, 2019 04:05 PM
Military planes carrying 180 tons of aid for Venezuelans fly from Miami to Colombia

World

Military planes carrying 180 tons of aid for Venezuelans fly from Miami to Colombia

February 16, 2019 06:00 AM
Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick for sex abuse

Nation & World

Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick for sex abuse

February 16, 2019 02:13 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Idaho Statesman App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • Place an Obituary
  • Today's Circulars
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story