It is turning into the China news story of the year, for the simple fact that it won’t be swept under the rug. Several days have passed, enough time for public opinion to simmer down, but people are still talking about the cardboard buns story. More and more people are coming out expressing the opinion that the original story was in fact true. Some say that reporter who has been detained for fabricating the Beijing baozi story, is really a scapegoat for exposing an embarrassing reality.
Certainly, Chinese officials have good reason for quashing the original story. Maintaining social stability is an oft repeated line, and the recent embarrassments over food export quality and the upcoming Olympic games are strong reasons for face-saving actions. Chinese media website Danwei, writes:
The way the authorities have gone about stopping the story is exactly the same way they clamp down on real news stories that they don’t want circulating.
One commentator on the site complains of the obvious lies in the governments position. He complains that in the days following the story breaking, the government did a hasty inspection of the breakfast food market. They reportedly found all buns to be “100% safe and clean.” Street food in China is notoriously dirty; many Chinese themselves refuse to eat it. So, to many commentators, the safety inspection seal of approval comes across like lies being told to protect the capital city’s image. It may be a bit late for that.
Check out the Danwei article Is the fake news story fake news? and be sure not to miss all the comments posted so far.
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