Death Sentences Handed Out for the Melamine Crisis

From the BBC:

Two men have been given the death penalty for their involvement in China’s contaminated milk scandal.

The former boss of the Sanlu dairy at the centre of the scandal was given life imprisonment.

They were among several sentences handed down by the court in northern China, where Sanlu is based.

Yes, those involved in the melamine scandal should be punished harshly for selling milk products known to be contaminated, and for causing the deaths of 13 babies and making 300,000 other children seriously ill (link).  Still, after reading about this I had several reactions. I felt repulsion at the severity of the punishment for the people involved and confusion about the lack of direction from China’s govenment.  The court ruling raises other issues too:

Issue #1

Life sentences and death sentences will not change the fact there is little to no real food safety oversight in China’s factories.  Using scare tactics is not a long-term solution. (See the approval ratings of the Bush administration and the failure of McCain’s campaign.)

Issue #2

These court rulings seem to say that China is taking these crimes very, very seriously.  Yet, at least five parents of melamine-sickened children were arrested for planning to hold a press conference over the matter (link).  Their mixed message is confusing and does not lend to an image of China making strides to ensure public awareness and safety.

Issue #3

The story of the melamine crisis broke in September, quickly followed by global recalls and global criticism for China’s cover-up (note that they had known about it even during the Olympics).  Why did it take so long to investigate and prosecute those involved in the melamine food chain?

Part of the reason for Issue #3 is conflated with Issue #1:  Their slowness is due to the fact that they do not have any good nationwide safety plan.  Even with recall after recall of lead contaminated this or that, China is not on their game when it comes to safety checks.  Yes, China is a big country, but so is America and we tend to get it right most of the time.  Either that or scandals get even more hushed than in China…Dissecting that is for another post, surely.

Issue #4

The parents sought to hold a press conference to address the fact that the government promised to pay for their medical bills, yet it is ignoring the cost of treatment received before the government began its official investigation.  To be considered are two factors:  One, the court is charging the chairwoman of Sanlu Group (maker of the formula powder) $2.9 million and fining her corporation $7.3 million.  Secondly, China has had economic growth in the double digits for the last several years and a surplus in liquidity (many nations are sadly in debt to China, including our own).  China should pay not only out of a sense of guilt or moral integrity, but because they have the money to do so.

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Where is China going from here?  What policy reform are they doing in order to prevent such major catastrophe from happening in the future?  Can the people of China feel safe when their government is reluctant to pursue and resolve crises like this?

January 23, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Uncategorized

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