Important messages

The head of the national quality watchdog has resigned.

The Party chief, mayor and a vice-mayor of Shijiazhuang have been dismissed.

Several corporate leaders at Sanlu are now in custody pending criminal investigations.

In several other safety-related incidents, local administrators resigned, or were sacked. The most conspicuous, of course, was the resignation of the Shanxi governor.

These developments have exceeded many of our expectations. After all, we seldom see mass dismissals for reasons other than corruption.

But this is exactly what most of us wanted to see. The scandals have been far too damaging to let responsible, or actually irresponsible, holders of public office off the hook.

Whatever motivated it, the move will prove an effective means of calming the public. Ours is an understanding and tolerant people. Indeed, the central authorities' high-profile intervention, highlighted by the personal involvement of top leaders, and the exhaustive searching for and treatment of victims have worked well in calming the public.

The treatment of delinquent public officials, on the other hand, conveys a much-needed message to both the public and to public officials - no one should expect kid gloves when things get really bad. There is an additional message for the latter - corruption is no longer the only way to ruin a political career.

As probes proceed, we have little doubt everyone responsible will get what they deserve.

Yet we need to see more than that. People get arrested and fired, or resign in disgrace because of human error. But we should also check or refine our safety guarantee mechanisms. The number of problems that have cropped up prove that they are porous.

Clearer rules are also required on the assignment of liability. The recent dismissals and resignations may instill a stronger sense of responsibility in public officials. But none of the existing documents have specific rules on procedure.

That was not a problem in the past. Now it is a widening loophole that needs to be plugged.

(China Daily 09/24/2008 page8)