Last week, Bao Yueyang (包月阳), Editor of China Economic Times (中国经济时报) was forced to resign for the publicising of the non-refrigeration of vaccines which led to at least 4 children's deaths. Ironically, the vaccines had been deliberately left unrefrigerated to prevent stickers displaying the government's quality assurance from peeling off.
Inevitably the case was compared to others who have attempted to publicise government failures to protect children's lives, including the "tofu schools" which collapse in earthquakes, the poorly policed schools were children are stabbed, and the inspection-exemption milk companies whose product damaged the kidneys of thousands of babies.
In several of these case, those who publicise the case have themselves become victims.
For example, Tang Zuoren was sentenced for five years for counting the victims of jerry-built schools ( although the court prosecuted him for writing an essay about the June 4th 1989 massacre, as this was a more presumably a acceptable reason for locking him up). Parents have also been detained and put under surveillance for attempting to petition the higher authorities.
After organising and publicising the "kidney stone babies", Zhao Hailian was arrested and tried in March for for inciting social upheaval. During his trial he was shackled at the ankles. The verdict was not announced.
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