Chinese Crisis Game Plan: Attack the Victims and Muzzle The Critics

More bullshit from the government goons in Beijing. In the midst of the tainted milk scandal (as of today, over 10,000 kids still suffering in hospitals), the Chinese authorities have reached for their old bag of tricks-- censorship and attacking the victims.

China’s Cabinet and highest government body acknowledged this week that the dairy industry was “chaotic” and had suffered from a grave lack of oversight. And while openly pledging to monitor milk products from farm to dinner table, they secretly executed a plan of a different sort. The government has imposed strict controls on media coverage of the crisis, suggesting it does not want it to become a focal point of public dismay.

And at least 14 lawyers from Henan province who have been advising victims’ families were told by officials from the provincial government’s justice department to stop their activities, Chang Boyang (one of those lawyers) told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.

“They called me and my boss at my law firm and put pressure on me,” Chang said. “They said that this has become a political issue and that I ought to follow the arrangements set out by the government.”

“If this suggestion is disobeyed, the lawyer and the firm will be dealt with,” Chang quoted the official as saying.