Earthquake Aftermath Continues to Raise Troubling Moral Issues
Jun 9th, 2008 • Posted in: NewsPress freedom restricted as coverage turns away from heroism stories; scientists say their persistent warnings of forthcoming quake were ignored; parents of children killed in quake attempt to file suit, but are dragged from courthouse by police; government sends in medics to reverse sterilization operations for parents who lost their sole child
SHANGHAI and DUJIANGYAN
Several new ethics-related developments in China’s efforts to cope with the crippling effects of the earthquake made headlines in the world press last week. Among the stories:
- China began rolling back many of the freedoms accorded journalists to report on the disaster, according to Los Angeles Times correspondent Mark Mangier. He reports: “The propaganda ministry and the State Council, China’s Cabinet, have issued directives to state-run news media outlining forbidden topics. Among them: questions about school construction, whether government rescue efforts lagged, and whether Beijing knew in advance that the earthquake would happen but failed to warn people.” Mangier notes that the crackdown came after the thrust of storylines went from heroic efforts of rescue workers to questions of whether corruption figured in the shoddy construction of schools, many of which collapsed while nearby buildings suffered only minor damage.
- The New York Times reports that some Chinese scientists are claiming that the steep death toll stems in part from a failure to anticipate the quake despite clear warnings that it was inevitable. Howard French, reporting from Shanghai, says some scientists are charging that they had repeatedly raised their concerns with government authorities. But, French writes: “They say preparations for a quake there were cursory at best, and building codes remained well short of the codes that have become standard in other well-known earthquake zones, including Beijing itself.” To date, according to the Times, state-run media in China paid little attention to the fact that there was a paucity of government oversight on building construction or attention to limiting urban growth.
- About 100 parents of children killed in the collapse of allegedly substandard schools have attempted to file a lawsuit against the government, the Voice of America reports. But police dragged them away from outside a courthouse in Dujiangyan, a resort city in Sichuan province.
- According to the Australian Broadcasting Company, the Chinese government is sending medics into the quake-devastated area to reverse sterilization operations for parents who lost their only child in the quake. Chinese law allows exceptions to the nation’s one-child-per-family policy if the child is killed or has a disability.
Sources: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 7 — New York Times, June 5 — Voice of America, June 5 — Los Angeles Times, June 4 — Australian Age, June 4.
For more information, see: Related Newsline Commentary, June 2 — Related Newsline story, May 27 — Related Newsline story, May 27 — Related Newsline story, May 19 — Related Newsline story, May 19.
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