An open apology by Jilin Governor Hong Hu for Sunday's fatal
fire in his province, the first public apology among the country's
provincial heads in recent years, has caught the attention of the
media and public.
Internet sites and major newspapers all reported the governor's
courage in taking the responsibility for the accident, saying it
was a reflection of a new government image advocated by China's
central leadership, which are focusing on the public interests and
administrative transparency.
On Feb. 16, the day following the fire, Premier Wen Jiabao
urgently called an executive meeting of the State Council, ordering
a thorough investigation into the fire cause, severe penalties for
the guilty parties, strict implementation of security protection
measures and deep introspection on the accident.
"It airs the government's attitude, ringing alarms for local
leaders," said a netizen nicknamed "visitor in clouds".
In the open letter published Wednesday, Hong said, "as the
provincial governor and principal person in charge of production
safety, I feel terrible and reprove myself for (the accident). I
feel guilty to all the people of the province and the dead and
injured."
This paragraph has become the most frequently used quotation by
media and websites.
An Internet surfer nicknamed "man like wind" considered it's
worth meditation that people showed greater interest in the
governor's apology than the accident itself.
For a long time, the Chinese public have been accustomed to a
stereotype of how accidents are handled. First, local government
leaders usually express their concern over the accident, and then
they rush to the site to supervise the rescue and pay visits to the
injured in hospitals. Finally, they often form an investigation
team to find out the cause and order a security crackdown.
"Local government heads usually approach accidents from a
loftier position to make themselves irreproachable. So it's quite
beyond expectation to us that Hong Hu made such a sincere and open
self-reproval to his people. No wonder it became a piece of hot
news," Netizen "old tree" said.
The website of the official People's Daily also posted
a commentary expressing hope to hear more voices like Hong's.
"The apology has put the government under the people's
supervision and asked for remedial opportunities, which can help
reduce the occurrence of similar accidents to a great degree," the
commentary said.
Local newspapers, like Chengdu Evening News and
Fuzhou Evening News, also valued Hong as a responsible
example for local leading cadres, regarding the open apology as a
display of the sense of duty, confidence, morality and personal
charms of a politician.
Mao Shoulong, professor with the public administration
department of the People's University of China, said the governor's
behavior would help improve the government's image and enhance the
public's trust and closeness to it.
"It will also remind related government departments to realize
the severity of the problem and drive them to carry out duties more
effectively in the future," Mao said.
However, some netizens pointed out that an apology alone could
not make up for the losses.
The commentary on the website of the People's Daily
said the dismissal of the health minister and Beijing's mayor
during the SARS outbreak last year marked an unusual step in
intensifying the cadre's duty of sense.
"People value this great progress and hope to see those guilty
of the accident bear specific responsibilities," the commentary
said.
Prof. Mao considered that whether the governor had political or
legal responsibilities for the accident should rely on
investigation results.
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(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2004)