OPINION> FROM THE CHINESE PRESS
Mystery of missing victim
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-25 07:45

In the recent viaduct collapse accident in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, a courageous mother who protected her child till her last breath did not figure on the list of victims announced by the authorities. This exposes the fact that local authorities do not accurately report the death toll possibly in order to avoid penalties, says an article in Yangtze Evening News. Excerpt:

Recently, the authorities released a list of 9 victims who died in the accident in which the viaduct collapsed on Hongqi Road, Zhuzhou, Hunan province. It is said that the only female victim in this accident was a 7-year-old girl.

However, according to the coverage of Legal Daily, a brave mother had been killed in the viaduct collapse: When the lifeguards dragged out a car from the ruins, they were moved by the sight of a woman in the car, whose own body had been damaged too badly to be recognized, but she had covered her child with her body until her last breath.

It is strange why the victims' list did not mention such a woman at all. It's hard to imagine that the authorities made a mistake on the victim's gender in such a critical case.

On the other hand, there was an off chance that it was a piece of fake news, considering the strict policy of General Administration of Press and Publication on preventing fake news, which has just been announced. Finally, the omission of this mother's name in the list of victims turned out to be intentional, which is attributed to "the rules of the reporting and investigative procedure of major accidents in projects' construction".

According to the rules, accidents with a death toll of 10 and above will be defined as a second-class major accident, while an accident involving 9 lives, as the authorities announced in the case of the viaduct collapse, will be defined as the third class. The strange "disappearance" of this woman who held on to and protected her child until the end, exposes the disgraceful behavior of the authorities. They were more concerned about avoiding the penalties they would suffer if the accident was placed in a higher class than in recording the truth about the number of victims.

(China Daily 05/25/2009 page4)