An editorial on the execution of Zheng Xiaoyu, from The International Herald Tribune:
…… killing one corrupt official is not the solution; Zheng was a symptom of a grievously flawed system, and not the cause.
In the United States, the authorities finally cracked down on the robber barons because the public would no longer abide them. In China, even with far stricter political control, the public will not long tolerate drugs that kill or officials who grow fat closing their eyes. And China’s standing as the world’s premier exporter of consumer goods will surely be challenged unless the world comes to believe that Beijing is serious about the quality, safety and integrity of its exports. [Full Text]