Collapse of New Bridge Underscores Worries About China Infrastructure

By Anna Zdancewicz

According to a report published by the New York Times on August 24, 2012, a 9.6-mile (15.4 km) bridge over the Songhua River in China collapsed yesterday killing three people and injuring five more. A portion of the massive Yangmingtan Bridge plummeted nearly 100 feet (30 meters) taking four vehicles with it. Xinhua news agency, an official news agency in Beijing, reported that this was the “sixth major bridge in China to collapse since July 2011” (Bradsher). What’s more appalling then the event itself, perhaps, is the Chinese government’s response to the incident. According to officials, the Yangmingtan collapse was the result of overloaded trucks; an excuse used for the previous bridges as well.

The online response has been vicious, and postings are suggesting the 9-month-old bridge collapse is the result of government corruption. Using outlets such as Sina Weibo, one blogger stated “Corrupt officials who do not die just continue to cause disaster after disaster” (Bradsher). Another quips “Tofu engineering work leads to a tofu bridge” (Bradsher).

China’s infrastructure issues have been under fire even before yesterday’s events, however. July 23, 2011 a standing high-speed train was rear-ended by another incoming train after it failed to stop in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Provence. 40 people were killed and 191 others were injured (Research). High-speed rail, since its creation, has been China’s emblem of technological success, yet an investigation of the event revealed issues with the signaling equipment that resulted in the crash. The blame was mainly placed on various safety inspectors and China’s Railway Ministry deputy chief engineer Zhang Shuguang (Research).

But who (or what) is really to blame for China’s infrastructure problems? One would be naïve to simply dismiss a total of six bridge collapses within the last two years. To answer this question, it is imperative to look at the regime itself and what drives China today.

The ruling political party of China is the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is the founding and ruling party of the state and maintains a unitary government as well as centralized military and media. In addition, the economy is built under the notion that the state does all the central planning in order to maintain “absolute social equality” (Heywood 108). Opposition is absolutely prohibited and dealt with in often-severe ways.

The very set up of the Chinese government makes it easy for corruption to be rampant, a fact which has been acknowledged by the ones in power themselves! So when China introduced its $586 billion USD economic stimulus plan focused on infrastructure, red flags should have been waving left and right (Barboza). Sure, the plan looked good on paper: It was a way for China to avoid the global economic downturn, but the government’s huge and fast push for building bridges, railroads, and other structures left room for too many mistakes.

So, when it is all said and done, one must ask oneself what is more valuable: A government’s desire to push it’s country into economic prosperity? Or the lives being taken as a result? The answer is clear.  

Works Cited

Barboza, David. "China Unveils Sweeping Plan For Economy." The New York Times.    The New York Times, 10 Nov. 2008. Web. 25 Aug. 2012.

    <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/world/asia/10china.html>. Bradsher, Keith. "China Bridge Collapse Raises Infrastructure Concerns." The New
    York Times. The New York Times, 25 Aug. 2012. Web. 25 Aug. 2012.     

    <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/world/asia/collapse-of-new-bridge-underscores-chinas-infrastructure-   

    concerns.html?_r=2>.
 Heywood, Andrew. Political Ideologies: An Introduction. Houndmills, Basingstoke,
    Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print.

 Research., Sharon Lafraniere; Mia Li Contributed. "Study Cites Blunders In China    Train Crash." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 Aug. 2012.   

    <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/world/asia/design-flaws-cited-in-china-train-crash.html>.