Jasmine Anderson
11.26.09
12:42am
About a year ago in China a dairy company by the name of Sanlu Group was found to be selling tainted milk. And yesterday, two people were executed for this scandal. The tainted milk contained melamine, a chemical used to make fertilizers and plastic. When this chemical is placed in food it makes a higher protein content, but it can cause kidney failure and disease. This tainted milk caused the death of six children, and made more than 300,000 sick. The two men by the names of Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping are the only two who have been executed, while nineteen others have been convicted and are serving prison terms. The company’s former chairwoman was sentenced to life in prison. These two men were responsible for supplying the Sanlu Group with the tainted milk. It was said that the Sanlu Group knew they were selling this toxic milk, which is why the chairwomen received life in prison. Another incident like this happened fourteen years ago and left thirteen children dead. The many companies involved in the milk scandal were ordered to pay back millions of dollars to the families affected. Some blame the food inspections for this scandal, since the milk wasn’t properly checked. Either way, tons of milk has gone on recall and the Sanlu Group shut down because it went bankrupt.
I wonder what the reasoning was behind this whole scandal in the first place. I think everyone is to blame; the food inspectors and the people who actually tainted the milk. Obviously the food inspectors were doing their job, or this could’ve been prevented if the milk was tested properly. The people who tainted the milk were completely wrong for their actions, plus you’re killing innocent babies. The fact that the chairwomen got a life sentence says a lot too, that China doesn’t care about your status…you will be prosecuted, which is a good thing. The companies responsible for selling the tainted milk had to give money to the families involved. Sure that’s a nice gesture, but money isn’t going to bring their child back. This scandal affected so many children and families, it’s ridiculous…money definitely won’t fix the problems it created.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8375638.stm
2 comments:
I feel that the food inspection people should have checked more closely. Also, I feel that the chairwoman got off extremely easy; she should be killed instead of having life sentencing in prison. I do not understand why people would want to taint milk or anything for that matter, but then again if we did know then we would be able to stop all the horrible things that happen in the world. Money in replacement to a child's death is petty and it won't help the families who lost innocent members.
If anyone is to blame it is the Chairwoman of the company. The fact that she got off light means she likely paid off those in power to avoid a death sentence. The ones who did get executed deserved execution too, and that's what they got since they didn't have enough money to pay off the corrupt Chinese officials.
So what do we learn from all this:
1. China is the world leader in the production of inexpensive products. But, when you buy Chinese, you are taking a great risk.
2. China's justice system is corrupt, so if you don't have enough money for the necessary bribe, you may have to suffer the consequences of your crime.
3. There may be an honest person in China, but he/she has not yet been found.
Eric von Schonberg
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