A week after a deadly high-speed rail crash sparked widespread criticism that China has put its development before public safety, authorities are struggling to contain the anti-government backlash. -- PHOTO: AP
BEIJING - A WEEK after a deadly high-speed rail crash sparked widespread criticism that China has put its development before public safety, authorities are struggling to contain the anti-government backlash.
The crash was on Sunday the most discussed issue on Sina's hugely popular microblogging site Weibo, where netizens have unleashed a week-long torrent of vitriol, questioning the safety of the fast expanding train network.
And despite signs the government may be clamping down on traditional media, Internet users were still furiously critical of the handling of the accident on July 23 near the eastern city of Wenzhou, in which at least 40 people died.
The government 'doesn't have the courage to face up to its mistakes, doesn't have the confidence to accept being called into question, and doesn't know how to live harmoniously with its people,' one Internet user said.
State-run newspapers have been unusually outspoken in their coverage of the collision, which left nearly 200 people injured, defying directives earlier in the week that reportedly ordered them not to question the official line. -- AFP
