For China Media Project, Qian Gang comments on the vaccine scandal in Shanxi Province:
Wang Keqin’s report revealed just the tip of the iceberg. He traveled around Shanxi interviewing the families of scores of affected children
But there were limits on how far Wang Keqin could proceed with his investigation without the cooperation of authorities. Health authorities in Shanxi refused to speak to him, saying “interviews require approval from relevant departments.” They told him “take his questions to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.” When he sought a response from the commission he was told that the “Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection has no time to receive interviews from reporters.”
Wang then tried to go directly to the division chief at the commission who would have been responsible for looking into possible official misconduct in the vaccine case, but he was again brushed off. “What is it you want to accomplish by looking into this case?” the division chief asked. Wang’s response was, “Watchdog journalism.” “We haven’t finished looking into the case yet,” the division chief said before hanging up.
Reading the full Wang Keqin report, I am left with many questions. Most crucial is the question of the role of China’s Ministry of Health in the whole affair. The negligence of provincial health authorities in Shanxi begs the question of exactly what sort of oversight role of the Ministry of Health was playing.
