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Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 11:56:35 AM PST
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| I'm glad that Obama doesn't plan to deal with food safety problems the Chinese way. China has sentenced 2 men to death over the melamine-in-milk scandal. The melamine sickened at least 300,000 children and killed at least six. One of the men sentenced to death was a dairy middleman, convicted of selling 600 tons of "protein powder" tainted with melamine to dairy companies.
Additionally:
Three other defendants, including a top dairy company executive, were sentenced to life in prison, another defendant received a suspended death sentence, and 15 others were given jail terms ranging from two to 15 years.
I think the most telling quote in the article is this:
"I feel sorry for them, but they are just scapegoats," said Liu Donglin, 28, who said his 21-month-old son suffered from kidney stones after drinking tainted milk formula. "The ones who should take the responsibility are the government, like the quality supervision bureau and the Health Ministry. I spent nearly $3,000 taking care of my son and the government only compensated me with $300." |
| Jill Richardson :: Two Chinese Death Sentences For Melamine In Milk |
As a student of Chinese culture and history, this is about what I expected to happen. The Chinese often find a scapegoat - usually a very powerful one - punish them harshly, and then act like everything's been taken care of. That's what they did in the case of the pet food crisis of 2007 - they executed the top food safety official. In fact, in this case, I'm kind of surprised that they didn't go after somebody high up in the government. Yet...
Some lawyers and victims have accused Beijing of failing to properly regulate the nation's dairy industry and some believe the government covered up the scandal until after the Beijing Olympic Games in August.
Former Sanlu officials acknowledged in testimony last month that they knew there were complaints and serious problems with their dairy products as early as last May.
But the government has placed the blame on a group of unscrupulous dairy company executives, farmers and middlemen who prosecutors say intentionally sold goods spiked with melamine to save money and increase profits.
I wonder which is more effective in curbing corruption? Our methods in the U.S., or sending clear signals that those who are caught will give their lives for their crimes, as they do in China. So far, with food safety problems in both countries, it seems that neither method is working too well. |
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