SEPA's Chief Resigned - Will That Do Any Good?
So the leak turned out to be true.
Xie Zhenhua, the director-general of the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA) resigned, or forced to step down according to a number of international press reports, for mishandling the chemical spill on Songhua river that caused the water crisis in Harbin.
My first reaction really was why him? Or why just him? Why only SEPA? Why not the officials at the local level or the top decision-makers in Beijing when a number of reports both in Chinese media and international press have suggested that everyone in the chain of decision-making all have a role to play in the fiasco.
Sun Bin noted that XIE is a less senior bureaucrat among all the actors involve in the decision-making system, and therefore it is easier to cut him out.
At any rate, I just don't think that forcing someone to step down would help avoid the same problem in the future.
The same problem will happen again and again in another policy domain and at another time so long as the way that the people work remains unchanged.
The one positive thing that comes out of Xie's resignation is it signals the government tries to be more accountable for its mistakes.
The Financial Times speculates : "Mr Xie’s ousting will create pressure for further resignations from the large body of city and provincial officials, and company executives, involved in an elaborate initial cover-up of the pollution."
So it remains to be seen what will happen next.
Meanwhile, China Top Blog notes that "Heilongjiang province [where Harbin situates in] celebrated their success of having conquered poluted water" in a television show. "They were singing, dancing and celebrating. What a joyful big event."
"Heilongjiang is celebrating" - originally uploaded by redredpei.
Xie Zhenhua, the director-general of the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA) resigned, or forced to step down according to a number of international press reports, for mishandling the chemical spill on Songhua river that caused the water crisis in Harbin.
My first reaction really was why him? Or why just him? Why only SEPA? Why not the officials at the local level or the top decision-makers in Beijing when a number of reports both in Chinese media and international press have suggested that everyone in the chain of decision-making all have a role to play in the fiasco.
Sun Bin noted that XIE is a less senior bureaucrat among all the actors involve in the decision-making system, and therefore it is easier to cut him out.
At any rate, I just don't think that forcing someone to step down would help avoid the same problem in the future.
The same problem will happen again and again in another policy domain and at another time so long as the way that the people work remains unchanged.
The one positive thing that comes out of Xie's resignation is it signals the government tries to be more accountable for its mistakes.
The Financial Times speculates : "Mr Xie’s ousting will create pressure for further resignations from the large body of city and provincial officials, and company executives, involved in an elaborate initial cover-up of the pollution."
So it remains to be seen what will happen next.
Meanwhile, China Top Blog notes that "Heilongjiang province [where Harbin situates in] celebrated their success of having conquered poluted water" in a television show. "They were singing, dancing and celebrating. What a joyful big event."
"Heilongjiang is celebrating" - originally uploaded by redredpei.
