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)