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After The New York Times published explosive special reports about medicine and food safety in China, a huge problem that faces ordinary Chinese people has finally became a international issue. It's a shocking reminder of how small the world has become: Chinese people can get to know China through The New York Times; Americans can get sick by eating toxic food from China. Nobody was surprised when the vice director of GAQSIQ (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of PRC, 中国质检总局) responded that the Chinese government "pays close attention to consumers' safety and works hard all the time to guarantee the quality of products and health of people." No one wants to lose face, I can understand this kind of excuse. But perhaps it would be more praiseworthy if they admitted the problems that everyone knows exist.
Based on the theory that everyone is equal, the Chinese food producers have poisoned everyone, whether Chinese or American. So Americans have been forced to pay attention the Chinese food safety issue. This makes many people have hope, thinking that the food safety problem will at last be solved. This is not good. Food products and coal mines are not going to be safe, this is the reality that Chinese people have learnt through bitter suffering. After accepting this reality, everyone is reconciled to it: they eat what they need to eat, the unlucky ones go down coal mines, there's no need to be tempted by the vain hope that this problem will be solved. In this place of ours, even Lei Gong (the Thunder God who punishes people who do bad things by striking them with lightning) neglects his duty and only goes after primary school students. So how can we expect officials to take any more responsibility aside from shedding a few crocodile tears and issuing token condemnations.
The Americans cannot guarantee safety in Baghdad, nor can they ensure Chinese food is safe. Chinese food producers will just make two different products: the export products will be 100% safe, but they will cut corners on food for the domestic market and keep on poisoning at home — otherwise, where will their profits come from? We cannot expect others to fix our own unsolved problems. The "Don't do evil" Google changed quickly after entering Chinese market. What a fertile land! Whatever seeds you sow, they grow into something despicable.
Mine workers' deaths are their own business, government officials never care about them, even the law is tolerant of the mine owners. When street vendors are beaten up, it is also vendors' business. College students standing by watching chengguan (the minor officials who manage order on city streets) beat up vendors want to become glorious members of the chengguan squad, and this problem is just a small one that does not involve many people. Actually, there is no conflict of interest or class conflict when it comes to environmental and food safety problems. Everyone needs to eat, drink and breath. Even if rich people can consume imported food, they still have to breath domestic air. So it should not be too hard to build a strict monitoring system. But right now this system only exist in words. Sometimes I indulge myself in the evils of schadenfreude and enjoy hearing about some important person dying of some disease: even the big shots cannot live any longer than the poor poisoned masses. Of course I should do a deep self-examination deeply; after all they died and I should be generous spirited.
The current food safety problem shows that the supervisor probably exchanged safety to money, even if he became a victim himself. Everyone is used to corruption, used to exchanging power for money. It's like a butcher in the joke who gets used to stealing meat at his job. One day at home, he hides a piece of meat in his sleeve. His wife is confused and ask why. He says, I am used to it, this is just the way it's done.
It very clear that if they cannot guarantee public interests that affect everybody, you can't expect them to guarantee the interests of disadvantaged minorities, like poor people.
