Also from China Elections & Governance, article by Feng Danya; translation by Manfred Elfstrom:
Editor’s note: Corruption is rampant in China’s healthcare system. Wu Guanzheng, a leading Party official, recently ranked the problem alongside illegal rural taxation, unpaid migrants’ wages and inflated school fees as an important focus for future anti-corruption efforts. Stories of SARS patients turned away for lack of money, tainted blood banks spreading AIDS and factories manufacturing fake drugs have surfaced in the Western media. However, the actual investigative reports in Chinese newspapers and television programs that have uncovered these stories are less well known outside of the mainland.
In this report from Jiangnan Shibao, the paper acts like an appeal board, passing on citizens’ concerns to the government and seeking out experts for legal advice. Papers have long served this intermediary role, but not without frequent tug of wars. The report is a follow up to another piece, which was suddenly purchased in bulk from all newsstands by “mysterious persons,” a common tactic of worried local officials. It has been summarized here from the Chinese original.
