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Phoebe Zhang

More than 200 families in a small city in northwestern China recently found themselves with a deeply worrying task: trying to establish if their children had lead poisoning. Some had been ill for months with symptoms such as stomach ache.
Parents who took their children to a local hospital were told the blood lead results were normal. Those who sought a second opinion in a neighbouring province discovered dangerous blood lead levels, as much as 40 times higher in at least one case – a clear sign of poisoning.
The scandal in Tianshui, Gansu province, finally erupted this month. On July 8, the local authorities concluded that a kindergarten had used inedible paint in its pastries, causing 233 out of 251 children to have abnormal blood lead levels. Eight people were detained in connection with the case.
But the public was not satisfied and many demanded more answers. Over the weekend, the Gansu government announced an upgraded investigation involving provincial officials and a task force from the State Council.
This need not have happened. The Tianshui government had every opportunity to properly handle the crisis. Sadly, such failures are common in a system where political performance is seen as the top priority and officials do not necessarily do what is best for the people.


The Tianshui government seems to have done quite a few things wrong. First, local officials allegedly tried to suppress the matter, probably hoping it would fail to catch wider media attention and the notice of their superiors.
Parents whose children were tested at the local hospital told the media they received normal test results over the phone from people they believed to be government officials. One parent at a hospital in Xian in the neighbouring Shaanxi province said a government worker tried to convince them to return to Tianshui.
If true, this is a familiar pattern of reaction to public safety incidents. Last November, a car rammed into people exercising outside a stadium in Zhuhai, killing 35. When I visited days later, security was tight at the gate. Security staff had put up umbrellas to block the view of journalists trying to take photographs. When I attempted to contact the victims’ families at the hospital, I saw plain-clothes officers standing nearby.
After the 2021 floods that killed hundreds in central China’s Zhengzhou city, officials were punished for mishandling the disaster, including trying to hide its severity by delaying or omitting casualty reports for over 100 people. Wuhan officials have been criticised for their slow initial response to Covid-19 while local police tried to silence medical professionals who shared information on early cases in a social media group.


In the lead poisoning episode in Tianshui, the local government released a matter-of-fact statement at the conclusion of its investigation that only succeeded in raising more questions. It said that the kindergarten principal and an investor had agreed to kitchen staff buying paint online to use in making food and that paint containing lead had been found by the police.
Instead of reassuring people, the statement, which suggested no motive for the criminal act, ignited more doubts: why would anyone think they could use paint in food and get away with it? Didn’t these people know that paint is toxic? Wouldn’t there have been a telltale strong smell? I myself can hardly imagine that food colouring would be vastly more expensive than paint.
The statement also failed to eliminate other possible paths of the poisoning – was the water tested? Was there air pollution? Were local residents, besides teachers and pupils, tested? The terse statement made the public feel the local authorities were in a hurry to close the case, rather than find out who was really responsible.

No matter how hard local officials try to cover up, scandals have a way of blowing up. Covid-19, for instance, eventually became a global pandemic. In the end, the local officials still get punished.
But nothing will change unless there is some sort of prevention mechanism. This is not the first lead poisoning scandal in Gansu. In 2006, a smelter was dismantled after at least 368 villagers in Hui county were poisoned. A national environmental bureau report noted a serious lack of local government oversight: in its 10 years of operation, the polluting company had never managed to meet environmental standards.
As officials descend upon Tianshui for an expanded investigation, they must consider measures that strengthen accountability, such as making local regulators keep a record of school food safety incidents, or more third-party supervision, such as having professional inspection agencies conduct spot checks on the food that kindergartens serve to children.
But I’m not very hopeful that they will go beyond punishing a few officials and calling it a day.


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A screenshot of footage of kitchen staff at a Gansu kindergarten where children have fallen ill with lead poisoning.  Photo: handout

Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui city in northwestern China’s Gansu province where children were found to have elevated lead levels. Photo: Handout

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Police are investigating whether paint was added to food. Photo: Handout

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Opinion

Suppression of information in such cases is part of a familiar pattern of local government response


Suppression of information in such cases is part of a familiar pattern of local government response.


China

China food safety

Health in China

Safety in China

Children in China

China pollution

Crime

Accidents, extreme weather and disasters in China

Zhuhai

State Council (People's Republic of China)

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Lead poisoning scandal in China shows tendency to cover up is still strong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Suppression of information in such cases is part of a familiar pattern of local government response

Suppression of information in such cases is part of a familiar pattern of local government response