Toxic Milk Victims Angry after Officials Reinstated

Families affected by China’s 2008 toxic milk scandal have expressed anger at reports that officials in Hebei Province discharged for the incident, have either been reinstated or given new positions.

Former deputy mayors of Shijiazhuang—where the maker of the melamine-laced milk was located—were both discharged after the scandal was made public. Now Zhao Xinchao has been reinstated as deputy mayor, and his former colleague Zhang Fawang has been named the deputy chair of the city’s Municipal Political Consultative Conference.

Toxic milk victim advocate Zhao Lianhai, whose son was one of the hundreds of thousands of children who developed kidney disease from melamine, is angry that officials responsible for the scandal have been reappointed.

[Zhao Lianhai, Toxic Milk Victim Advocate]:
"I want to express my anger, this is not acceptable to us. The melamine scandal has had such a huge effect. All officials in Shijiazhuang and Hebei provinces are responsible. They hid the scandal for 38 days, actually many of these officials are guilty of failing in their duties or other criminal offences."

Chinese media also reported last week that Shijiazhuang’s former mayor, Ji Chuntang, is now a provincial level official after he had been stripped of his titles for the scandal.

Jiang Yalin, another affected parent, says these reappointments reflect a lack of accountability for Communist officials.

[Jiang Yalin, Parent of Toxic Milk Victim]:
"Chinese officials, maybe because we cannot vote, their reappointments seem to be out of our hands, we cannot stop it. We’re angry that our place holds no significance. The public accountability system in China seems to just keep officials out of sight for a while, like they’re on a vacation."

The melamine milk scandal dealt a heavy blow to China’s dairy industry, and shook public confidence in the country’s food safety conditions. Despite promises that victims would receive proper compensation and treatment aid, many families have been left on their own to pay for their children’s ongoing medical needs.