23:20 PM, June 5. Journalists and reporters from over 40 media outlets attended that day's third press conference later in the evening. Officials confirmed that the petrol that had caused the fire was not from the bus itself, because the remaining diesel in the fuel tank had not caught fire and there was no fuel leak from the engine. Updated information on the injured revealed that the oldest was 72 and the youngest 5. 35 of 75 injured had been identified.

After the press release came a long night's vigil, and a new question arose: who took the petrol onto the bus, and was it arson or an accidental crime?

16:30 PM, June 6. The city government held its fourth press conference, displayed photos of 3 emergency hammers and the intact fuel tank and excluded the possibilities of self-ignition and mechanical failure. The possibility of a third-party factor was not ruled out at the press conference. Casualty numbers were again confirmed and compensation measures to their families were made public.

23:00 PM, June 7. "Someone carried an inflammable substance onto the bus" was the final judgment announced at the fifth press conference. "The possibility that it was ignited intentionally or negligently cannot be ruled out, but at least we can exclude the possibility of an explosion," said officials. Finally, the government called on anyone with any further information to contact the authorities to help determine the cause.

Firefighers and policemen investigate at the spot. [Xinhua]

"The government's rapid response to the case is very impressive and is a direct indication of the improvement in government performance in handling public relations crises," said Zhang Kun, dean of Journalism and Communications School of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, commenting on the local government's performance in the case.

Zhang has followed the development of the case carefully. He said relations between government and the media are gradually evolving. In the past, the government was reluctant and slow in communicating with the public through the media, but now the government is more open in its handling of such incidents.

"If the incident had happened in some other city instead of Chengdu, the government response and handling might not have been so impressive," said the dean. "Local government's capability to handle major accidents has greatly improved since last year's devastating earthquake. An effective emergency response system has already been formed and put in place."

A positive and very important result of the case is a sweeping nationwide safety check on public vehicles, Zhang noted.

"A core step that government should take in handling crisis through public relations is to keep information flow quick, accurate, and open," says Pan Xiaojuan, a politics researcher of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, June 12, 2009)