Via the BBC: China food safety head executed
The former head of China’s State Food and Drug Administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, has been executed for corruption, the state-run Xinhua news agency reports.He was convicted of taking 6.5m yuan ($850,000; £425,400) in bribes and of dereliction of duty at a trial in May.
The bribes were linked to sub-standard medicines, blamed for several deaths.
China has been criticised over a number of recent cases involving tainted goods, and correspondents say Zheng had become a symbol of the crisis.
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Zheng’s sentence was seen as unusually harsh for such a senior figure, but the BBC’s Dan Griffiths in Beijing says the government hopes the execution shows it is getting to grips with the crisis.
Looks like the various negative stories about Chinese exports have gotten the government’s attention. This comes across as much as a PR move/damage control as it does the dispensing of justice.
July 10th, 2024 at 11:40 am
Fired
If Zhang’s corruption led to people dying as the article mentions, the sentence isn’t unreasonable. In South Korea if you’re a businessman whose greed causes a department store to collapse killing 500 people, or you’re an Illinois politician sellin…
July 10th, 2024 at 11:52 am
[...] Dr. Taylor is probably right, the Chinese government is doing so me PR to counteract the questions of food safety when it comes to products from that country. If Zhang’s corruption led to people dying as the article mentions, the sentence isn’t unreasonable. In South Korea if you’re a businessman whose greed causes a department store to collapse killing 500 people, or you’re an Illinois politician selling licenses and one of those unqualified drivers kills six children, well you’ll get off with little more than a wrist slap. Where do you think justice was served properly? [...]