Gag order in China

We in India, are so focused on everything within that we most of the times, miss out on news happening around the world. Thus the huge fire in China’s port of Tiajin, a headline in newspapers world over, was a just a news in our newspapers.

This was a huge fire. The official figure is that around 112 have died but looking at the extent of the fire, surely these numbers cannot be true. The fire was at one of its chemical warehouses. It apparently housed a sodium cynide. And the blast was so huge, that the fire could be seen way beyond the state border. And yet, the Chinese say that only 112 were killed?

Apparently, the Chinese have gagged the Press and even the social media. No reporting of this event, of any sorts is permitted. Even the social media is blocked, where eyewitnesses are not allowed to report the actual happenings. The Chinese has said that news of the fire will be what if publishes and nothing else will be allowed. Those publishing will be prosecuted.

This is the kind of “transparency” in China. How does one believe anything which China publishes? If something like an accident is also not allowed to be published, what we can say about all the other data which comes from the Govt?