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  • In August 2015, a Chinese chemical warehouse explosion killed more than 100 people and

  • injured over 700. It was one of the worst industrial disasters in China’s history.

  • But accidents like this are extremely common. Just a few weeks prior, a viral video showed

  • a woman in a Chinese mall being trapped and killed in a malfunctioning escalator. Both

  • incidents are said to be caused by lax safety regulation. So why is China’s infrastructure

  • so dangerous?

  • Well, in the 1970s, as China’s original communist government left power, the economy

  • was in shambles. Chinese leaders implemented a series of economic reforms in order to compete

  • with Western dominance. The new changes were based on mixed economy capitalism, and allowed

  • businesses to expand rapidly without significant regulation.

  • This expansion kickstarted a modern industrial revolution leading to nearly 10% growth every

  • year. However, like most industrial revolutions, labor laws and safety standards have been

  • ignored in favor of fast growth and a competitive edge. Bribery and corruption are rampant,

  • as it is often cheaper to pay off regulators and fines instead of changing business practices.

  • The current President has attempted to crack down on corruption, but China has a longstanding

  • history of cutting corners in government and business that is difficult to overcome. Since

  • most companies were run by the state until about the 1980s, this corruption has permeated

  • business culture as well.

  • One example of thiscutthroat capitalism”, was revealed in 2008. Several manufacturers

  • had added a poisonous chemical to baby milk to make up for a lack of protein. This action

  • resulted in half a dozen infant deaths. Investigators later blamed company executives, but also

  • noted that government officials contributed to the tragedy by repressing the story for

  • months in order to save face during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

  • Ignoring safety standards has given China a competitive edge in international trade.

  • But the unprecedented economic growth has come at a high human cost. The recently destroyed

  • chemical warehouse was not supposed to have been built near residential areas, yet the

  • building still received a permit. Now, many work-safety officials are under criminal investigation

  • for this oversight. Although China intends to stay competitive in the global market,

  • their ethical lapses, and many safety problems are important issues to solve.

  • While there appears to be no end in sight to these accidents, China is continuing to

  • build a supercity at the heart of Beijing. To learn more about China’s supercity Jing-Jin-Ji,

  • watch this video. Thanks for watching TestTube News! Have you liked and subscribed yet? Be

  • sure to do that if you want new videos from us daily.

In August 2015, a Chinese chemical warehouse explosion killed more than 100 people and

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為什麼中國的基礎設施如此危險? (Why Is China's Infrastructure So Dangerous?)

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    Darren 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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