Chinese officials have ordered a temporary halt on new high-speed rail projects, as the fallout continues from last month's fatal crash near Wenzhou.Evil capitalists showing no concern for their customers?
No. The fingerprints of the dead hand of government are all over this tragedy.
An official diktat ordering journalists in state-run media groups not to investigate the causes of the crash was leaked on the internet, leading to allegations of a cover-up.When you think back to China's empty cities, this isn't at all surprising.
Workers clear wreckage of mangled carriages after a Chinese high-speed train derailed, July 24, 2011 Four carriages were shunted off a viaduct after an apparent signal failure
And a government order was leaked advising local lawyers that they needed authorisation to take on compensation cases of victims.
The high-speed rail network is one of the country's flagship projects.
But critics have accused the government of ignoring safety warnings in its rush to complete the construction.
But it is amusing to see BBC reporters use the term 'diktat' and to bemoan 'state-run' media groups.
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