High Speed news

Their View: High-speed rail tragedy spooks China

The following editorial appeared in the Washington Post:

The saga of China s high-speed rail woes has always been about more than just passenger safety or fiscal waste. It s also been a story about the role of journalists and journalism in the strange, semi-controlled media landscape of the modern People s Republic.

In a sophisticated update of traditional communist propaganda methods, Chinese authorities have used the media to build support for the massive project and to deflect questions that might have threatened its glittering image. State and party media emphasized the high-tech prowess of the trains while enforcing a prohibition against overly skeptical investigations.

To be sure, there could be bursts of tolerated candor when it suited the regime s interests. Complaints about high ticket prices and the like received coverage. And earlier this year, the government s purge of former railway minister Liu Zhijun was followed by publication of numerous exposes of financial mismanagement in the high-speed program - stories that informed the public, however belatedly, about the true state of affairs while buttressing the government s position that past misconduct was being addressed and corrected.

But the deadly accident that killed 39 people on July 23 upended that strategy. Pent-up public outrage burst forth, overwhelming the government s restraints. A Twitter-like Chinese Internet service suddenly peppered the Web with thousands and thousands of postings, some breaking news about the crash and many others denouncing the government s apparent refusal to come clean about what happened.

Meanwhile, reporters for conventional media demanded answers, courageously pushing the limits of what was allowed. Journalists hooted and shouted at a Ministry of Railways apparatchik when he tried to convince them that a 2-year-old girl, who was discovered alive in the train wreckage by private citizens after official rescue efforts were called off, had survived by a miracle.Finally, the government was forced to admit that a design defect was in part responsible for the accident, and not just a thunderbolt, as previously claimed.

But now, officials of China s were down on the most basic methods of an ancient era. The censors have stepped up efforts to control messages in recent days - to the point of actually doping stories and editorials not to their liking.

Shooting Leads To High-Speed Chase, Search - Greenville News Story ...

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. -- Authorities in Oconee County were searching for a shooter Friday night.

Dispatchers said there was a shooting in Salem, and EMS was sent to the scene.

Seneca Police Chief John Covington told News 4 the incident led to a high-speed chase with the suspected shooter's vehicle into Seneca.

The chief said three people jumped out of the car and into the woods at West North Third Street at Skyland Drive. A Seneca K-9 unit was assisting the Oconee County Sheriff's Office. Covington said the fire department also brought thermal imaging devices to the scene to help track down the culprits.

There was no word on any injuries related to the shooting.

Be sure to refresh WYFF4.com for the latest on this story.