Need for speed

After the terrible train collision in Wenzhou that killed 40 people and injured 191,the Chinese government decided to spin the accident and duck all questions of error and system failure. Media outlets were instructed to pipe down coverage,and accentuate the positive. The government had decided that “great love in the face of great tragedy”,like cabs refusing fares and citizens donating blood,should be the overriding theme of reportage. When a two-year-old was discovered alive after rescue operations had been called off,the government dubbed it a “miracle”. Meanwhile,less than a day after the rescue work stopped,the trains were hurtling along the tracks again.

The incident has shaken many in China,who see it as emblematic of the heartless need for speed that characterises Chinese progress and the lack of public accountability. The Chinese government has sunk billions into building these high-speed rail networks,which are being busily expanded — and it is reluctant to take any questions over the safety or the management of it. It has issued stern directives to the media,on any attempt to explore reasons for the accident or criticise the rail project. There was certainly some media pushback to these propaganda efforts — the Economic Observer,for instance,defiantly published a special report on the accident entitled “No miracles in Wenzhou”,with the railway’s official logo stamped over a photo of the wreckage. But by now most media outlets have fallen in line,burying the story and changing focus.

However,the questions have not ceased on social media platforms. “Today’s China is a bullet train racing through a thunderstorm — and we are all passengers on board,” was one of the most circulated posts on the microblogging site,Sina Weibo. Even though the state’s censors may eventually efface these traces,it might be wiser for the state to genuinely hear the people and square with them.