China orders safety review after high-speed rail crash

[John Ashworth]

BBC 26 July 2011 Last updated at 09:35 GMT

China orders safety review after high-speed rail crash

China has ordered a two-month nationwide safety review of its railways amid public anger at a deadly crash between two bullet trains.

Rail minister Sheng Guangzu apologised for the collision in eastern Zhejiang province, saying the campaign would focus on China's high-speed network.

Thirty-nine people died in Saturday's crash, with nearly 200 people injured.

The government has begun compensating victims' relatives, paying one family $77,500 (£47,000), reports say.

The family of the victim, Lin Yan, was the first to reach a compensation deal with the local government, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The two trains collided during a storm, apparently after lightning knocked out power to the first, shunting four carriages from a viaduct and forcing two off the rails.

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

Lessons to be learned

Mr Sheng said railway officials would be deployed at frontline rail operations across the country to overhaul maintenance standards and checks on power connections to pre-empt outages.

All local railway bureaux were to draw lessons from the accident, a statement on the railways department website said.

Public fury and scepticism have been expressed in China's blogosphere, both about the death toll of 39 people - suggesting it is too low - and the safety of China's rail network.

State newspapers have also expressed concern. The Global Times ran a headline: Anger mounts at lack of answers.

"As the world is experiencing globalisation and integration, why can't China provide the same safety to its people?" an editorial read.

The official China Daily newspaper said there were "unanswered questions" about why the driver of the second train was not warned that the first had stalled.

Journalists have reportedly been told to focus on positive stories while an official investigation is carried out.

Meanwhile, more than 20 trains were delayed for up to three hours on Monday due to a power outage on the much-lauded high-speed link between Beijing and Shanghai.

The power cut was blamed on storms which blew an iron sheet onto a power line, cutting it.

Power outages and other malfunctions have occurred on the line since it opened in June.

Its top speed had already been lowered, from 350km/h (217mph) to 300km/h (186mph) for safety reasons.

China has plans to link remote parts of the country by high-speed rail; it also wants to develop sales of its train technology around the world.

Alongside the safety concerns have been revelations of corruption and the sacking of senior officials.

[John Ashworth]

BBC 27 July 2011 Last updated at 11:46 GMT

China's Wen Jiabao urges swift Wenzhou rail-crash probe

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called for a swift and transparent inquiry into last weekend's fatal rail crash, amid rising anger over the accident.

Mr Wen also promised to take steps to improve safety on the high-speed rail network - one of the government's flagship projects.

The public has expressed outrage at the accident, which killed 39 people near Wenzhou on Saturday.

Many people believe the government has mishandled the aftermath of the crash.

The government, which has spent billions of dollars building the high-speed rail network, announced a two-month safety review on Tuesday, after already promising a full investigation into the crash.

Mr Wen told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday: "Great importance must be attached to finding out the facts and judging the responsibility in accordance with laws and regulations."

He promised that the government would then take "resolute steps to comprehensively strengthen safety".

The premier is due to visit the crash site on Thursday.

Sceptical

According to official explanations, Saturday's crash was caused when a train travelling over a viaduct was struck by lightning, knocking its power out.

As it stood motionless on the lines, another train crashed into the back of it and several carriages fell off the side of the viaduct.

But many in China have been sceptical of the official version of events, because shortly after the accident a diktat was circulated ordering state media not to investigate the causes.

State outlets were also told to focus on positive stories - such as that of two-year-old Xiang Weiyi, who was rescued from the wreckage. Her story was closely followed by state news agency Xinhua.

However, some official media have been highly critical of the government's handling of the crash.

The Global Times ran an editorial on Wednesday criticising the arrogance of officials, saying the railway ministry had failed to offer a proper apology.

"If such public relations disasters frequently happen, the official credibility of authorities will be gradually torn down," the editorial said.

China's main microblogging website, Sina Weibo, registered four million comments on the crash within 24 hours of the accident.

On Monday, the website asked in a poll how users felt the government had handled the issue - and the overwhelming majority of tens of thousands of people who responded said they were "very dissatisfied".

China plans to link remote parts of the country by high-speed rail and wants to sell its train technology around the world.

Alongside the safety concerns have been revelations of corruption and the sacking of senior officials.

[John Ashworth]

China train crash inquiry ordered as public outrage continues

China's premier promises train crash report in response to dissent over propaganda directives to journalists

* Tania Branigan in Beijing
* guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 July 2011 17.44 BST

Propaganda authorities in China have failed to stem the torrent of public outrage over last Saturday's high-speed rail crash amid continuing aggressive media reporting and angry online posts.

Amid the rancour, China's premier, Wen Jiabao, ordered a "swift, open and transparent" investigation, adding that its results should be made public. He promised to take resolute steps to strengthen safety, the Xinhua state news agency reported.

At least 39 people died and more than 190 were injured in the crash near Wenzhou in Zhejiang province. Six carriages derailed and four plunged from a viaduct after one train smashed into the back of a stationary train.

Directives leaked this week ordered journalists to avoid analysing the causes and focus on uplifting stories of the rescue but several outlets continued to attack the handling of the collision and raise awkward questions – such as the whereabouts of the surviving train driver and whether the safety systems had failed.

It was also reported that the "miracle" rescue of a toddler happened only because the officer who found her defied orders to halt the search.

"Knowing how the railway's Great Leap was achieved, who can say that the high speed network is safe? ... unofficial opinions have been blocked and silence was imposed on dissenting experts. That is why tragedies are unavoidable," warned an editorial in the Economic Observer. Meanwhile, users posted millions of messages on Sina's Twitter-like Weibo service and some microbloggers referred to the railways ministry as "iron hooligans".

One created a fake movie poster, spoofing recent propaganda films. Titled The Panicked Train Crew, and featuring images of railway officials, it proclaims: "After the Founding of a Republic and The Beginning of the Great Revival, another epic film to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist party!" Although critical reporting and online attacks on authorities are often seen after disasters, it is rare for them to continue for so long – particularly in the face of explicit orders. It is especially unusual given that high speed rail is regarded as a matter of national prestige.

New media professor Hu Yong said: "The difference this time is how widely it has spread, how sharp the criticism is and how much the various tiers of society are influenced."

He said microblogging had played a major role in spreading information and reaction, but added: "It is still questionable whether this will affect policy-making and the final outcome." David Bandurski, of the China Media Project at Hong Kong University, predicted that authorities would soon clamp down. He said the sensitivity of the political situation – with jockeying for position ahead of next year's power transition – had made the issue "too hot to handle".

Others have suggested that leaders may be keen to clip the wings of the overly powerful ministry. Bandurski also suggested journalists might be seeking to push back after a recent media clampdown: "When they do crack down on the story, everyone is going to know what they are not reading. The political blowback is going to be huge," he added.

Propaganda directives are issued by numerous bodies, which might help to explain variations in coverage, although at least one of the orders appeared to be at national level. Southern Metropolitan Daily warned: "Without independent investigation of the truth, the living will not agree and the dead will not rest." The Beijing Times said many "puzzles" remained unsolved.The state-run Global Times also attacked officials for failing to answer reasonable questions. "Chinese society is changing and public democracy is booming in the internet era, but the arrogance of certain authorities has stagnated ... public opinion in China cannot stand this anymore," said an editorial.

He Weifang, a prominent scholar at Peking University Law School, used his microblog account to call for an independent special commission to investigate the crash and the future development of high speed rail. He pointed out that the ministry of railways was affiliated to the state council, which has set up the current inquiry, adding: "If they investigate, it is hard to demonstrate justice and fairness."

Additional research by Han Cheng

[John Ashworth]

BBC 28 July 2011 Last updated at 09:03 GMT

China train crash: Signal design flaw blamed

Serious flaws in a signalling system caused a fatal collision on China's high-speed rail network, officials say.

Thirty-nine people died when a train ran into the back of another which had stalled on a viaduct near Wenzhou after lightning cut its power supply.

The system "failed to turn the green light into red", said An Lusheng, head of the Shanghai Railway Bureau.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who has been visiting the crash site, vowed to "severely punish" those responsible.

"The country's development is for the people, so the most important thing is people's lives," Mr Wen told reporters at the scene.

"No matter if it was a mechanical fault, a management problem, or a manufacturing problem, we must get to the bottom of this.

"If corruption was found behind this, we must handle it according to law and will not be soft."

Mr Wen earlier promised to take steps to improve safety on the high-speed rail network - one of the government's flagship projects which it hopes highlights China's development.

Six carriages derailed and four fell between 20m to 30m (65ft to 100ft) from the viaduct after Saturday night's crash, which injured nearly 200 people.

The accident came just four years after the country's first high-speed trains began operating.

Rail experts had warned against the rush to build the world's longest and fastest high-speed rail network in record time amid safety concerns.

There are allegations that corners were cut during construction because of corruption, raising questions about infrastructure across the country.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Wenzhou says it is difficult to get to the truth because of a lack of transparency and accountability.

There is a real sense that things are perhaps being built too quickly and that safety is being jeopardised in the process, our correspondent says.

'Public relations disaster'

Mr Wen's visit to the crash scene comes amid growing public outrage at the accident.

Internet users and relatives of the victims have been angered by the government's apparent unwillingness to answer questions about the crash.

This has led to accusations of government "arrogance", amid suspicions of a cover-up.

The authorities have moved quickly to stem media coverage, urging reporters to focus on "extremely moving" stories, saying the overall theme should be "great love in the face of great disaster".

Chinese media have been ordered not to question the official line on the accident, but several newspapers have published editorials criticising the railway ministry.

In an unusually scathing editorial published in both its English and Chinese versions, the state-run Global Times on Wednesday said the government's handling of the accident aftermath was a "public relations disaster".

"The relationship between the government and the public is like that of a ship and water. Water can keep the ship afloat or sink it," it said.

Some relatives of victims, who include two Americans and an Italian, have reportedly refused compensation and instead demanded to be given answers.

The accident is seen as a blow to China's hopes of selling trains abroad in a bid to become a high-tech exporter.

Shares in Chinese rail and train builders have fallen sharply since the crash.

At the scene
Martin Patience BBC News, Wenzhou

Wen Jiabao held the news conference under the viaduct where six of these carriages came off during Saturday's collision. He stressed that safety would be the absolute priority as China built its huge high-speed network. It is already the second-largest in the world and is set to be expanded.

Wen Jiabao, often referred to as "Granpa Wen", is the soft face of the party. When there is a crisis or an accident like this, Premier Wen is the man with the common touch who deals with the public.

There was pressure on him to visit the scene. When asked why it took him so long to get to Wenzhou, he said he had been ill and his doctors had not wanted him to travel but he felt it was very important.

But still there is public anger here about the crash, which has raised safety questions about the whole of China's high-speed network.

[John Ashworth]

China rail crash families accept compensation as Beijing moves to silence furore

Ten families agree to £87,000 compensation as death toll mounts

* Tania Branigan in Beijing
* The Observer, Sunday 31 July 2011

Relatives bereaved by China's high-speed rail crash have accepted compensation after the government doubled its original offer, as authorities tried to silence the furore over the disaster. Ten families have agreed to the deal – 915,000 yuan (£87,000) per victim – the state news agency reported. The death toll is now 40, with another 190 injured.

Other relatives say the compensation is insufficient and that the ministry of railways, which has apologised for last weekend's disaster, should take more responsibility. "Our deceased relatives were in the prime of their lives; they have children and senior parents to support," said Chen Engfen. He said he would not accept less than £141,000.

The crash, near Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, happened when one train ploughed into the back of another. Six coaches were derailed, with four plunging from a viaduct. Officials have blamed design flaws in signalling and are checking the equipment at 58 other stations.

The disaster, and the government's handling of it, unleashed an outpouring of anger. Many see the crash as epitomising the problems facing China in its headlong rush towards development, including the lack of transparency.

However, unusually aggressive reporting has come to an abrupt halt. "Some newspapers have been told not to run articles, or had prepared far harder coverage but at the last minute had the rug pulled out from under them," said David Bandurski of Hong Kong University's China Media Project.

China has seen a similar pattern in previous disasters, with censors shutting down discussion and relatives coming under pressure to sign compensation deals and stop raising questions about the incident.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported a relative as saying the family stopped protesting about the crash "because pressure was applied privately".

Chinese journalists have said that a television producer was disciplined after his programme asked searching questions about the crash. A note on Wang Qinglei's microblog said that "as long as a country has journalists who resist pressure… it still has a soul".