Life The Brutal Efficiency of the Chinese
posted by on August 13 at 10:16 AM
It was just two months ago that the world was up in arms about the tainted pet food, powdered milk, and toothpaste being exported from China. As the bad goods felled pets and instigated recalls across the U.S., I wondered, “How will we ever get justice for the international perpetrators of this fiasco?” I soon got my answer, as news spread of the execution of the former head of China’s State Food and Drug Administration.
Today brings word of a similarly crude solution to another Chinese problem, as the boss of a Chinese toy firm involved in a huge safety recall of lead paint-tainted toys preempted his execution by the state by killing himself.
Yes yes, capital punishment and suicide are always wrong. Still, folks like Karl Rove could learn a thing or two about contrition from the Chinese…
Hell yeah.
I am all for capital punishment depending on the crime (ie, DNA proven murder type stuff). THIS certianly does not rise to that level. But I would have liked to see him tell more of what happened in the factories. With his death go many many secrets.
@2 - why doesn't it rise to that level? If you accept that the death penalty has some legitimacy, then I don't see why someone who knowingly engages in corrupt behavior responsible for the poisoning of thousands is necessarily less deserving of it than someone who kills a single person with their bare hands.
Accountability is anti-American.
@3, How many kids have died due to the toys? And do you have irrefutable evidence (provable in a court of law) that he was guilty? I assume since you are willing to kill him you have studied this in depth? Let's all agree to have all the evidence before we jump to execute someone.
The system of law is for everyone's benefit, not just your friends.
@5 - I'm not rushing to execute anyone. I'm not even convinced the death penalty has legitimacy except in certain extraordinary situations. I'm saying that if deaths are attributable to negligence of this form, then there's no reason for the justice system to regard them much differently from a cold-blooded murderer on trial.
tsm @6, setting aside all the other issues involved, I think the practical explanation for the disparity (in this country, anyway) is that those who cause deaths through commercial negligence tend to be richer and whiter than those who do so through direct violence.
It's kind of a bullshit accountability though. They have one million factories, most of them quite small. I have no doubt that the head of their FDA was getting rich, since he probably gets a cut of all the bribes all the way down the line, but for each one of those factories, there are probably a few dozen people who are more responsible than the guy who got whacked. Why aren't they being held responsible?
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