China's Olympic aura has faded, the gold is gathering dust, the gymnasts are back in elementary school and the Chinese government is back to its old self again.
Shameless.
More than two months ago the first case of melamine poisoning was found in Chinese dairy products, yet the boys in red are just now finding the wisdom to dispatch 5,000 inspectors to monitor the country's dairy farms.
The move comes after attempts at a cover-up failed. Are officials so bass-ackward that they thought they could actually keep a lid on it? Apparently yes.
As early as August 11th, while basking in the glow of the Olympics, the Chinese media was ordered by government officials to keep the world in the dark about tainted dairy products. Editors were pressured to adhere to official copy from the Communist Party mouthpiece, Xinhua --who actually had the nerve to recently write, "On the one hand we must crack down on illegal behavior but on the other hand we must protect the interests of the dairy sector."
The Chinese government's obsession with "saving face," masked as what they now say was an effort to avoid panic, has resulted in a reported 53,000 illnesses, over 12,800 hospitalizations, and four infant deaths in China alone. And with the wide range of export food products, the scandal has affected food in countries on all continents. Even Snickers bars! Is there nothing sacred?
This sort of behavior is to be expected from a Chinese government that has for years covered up everything from earthquakes to mining disasters to the age of their gymnasts. But, what is more disturbing is the tepid response of our leaders to a cover-up that gravely affects the safety of world consumers. This is the new world order in a world intoxicated on cheap products from China.
For America the lack of a harsh rebuke goes much deeper --the Chinese hold and estimated $1.25 trillion dollars in American treasury bonds. This must be an "I told you so" day for doomsayers who have long cautioned against recklessly allowing foreign governments to finance our debt.
As Geoffrey Garrett of the US Studies Center in Australia put it, "The willingness of Americans to be bailed out by China is the big question. It becomes very politically sensitive...when China is buying up the United States at rock-bottom prices."
While that is a bit overstated in terms of long term economic impact, we are now seeing how it affects the here and now of diplomacy. With the America in an economic tail-spin it can ill-afford to upset its its biggest lender. Even when it is knowingly endangering American citizens.
So there it is: We let it slide when they covered up putting lead-based paint on toys for our children; we issued hollow condemnation when learning they were knowingly exporting toxic food to our dogs; and now we are turning a blind that they let poison go out to us all . What's it going to be next?
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