Abstract
In the grisly aftermath of one of China’s biggest forced-abortion scandals the central government is once again pleading innocent to crimes committed at a local level by terrifyingly over-zealous family-planning officials. Given the nature of the violations in Linyi city Shandong province—which include police kidnappings poison injections into fetuses and thousands of coerced sterilisations—it is hardly surprising that the state wants to wash its hands of the matter. Under Chinese law the goals of the one-child policy are supposed to be achieved through financial penalties not coercion. But Beijing’s response to the crimes in Linyi raises a broader question about its ability to implement policy on all levels. Is this notoriously authoritarian state losing its authority? Although the details of the Linyi case are particularly horrific the cause—local officials flouting central government laws to promote their own interests— has a familiar ring. The same problem has been cited in numerous other recent health-related scandals including deadly fake baby powder environmental pollution and mining accidents. (excerpt)
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