Post date: Jan 02, 2016 3:5:28 AM
The disaster that happened last month in Shenzhen brought back many unpleasant memories over the last 3½ decades.
I have had close working relationships with the private and public sectors in mainland China since 1980, covering such cities as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin (天津), Guangzhou, Shenzhen and more. I was involved in numerous Sino-foreign joint ventures, non-profit as well as private investment projects, all of which required high-level government approval.
While one cannot say for sure that the deadly collapse of multiple buildings was the result of greed, criminal behaviour or anything remotely related to that, reading the media reports, I developed the inkling that it might not have been “just another accident”.
The investigation is ongoing, so let’s wait for all the facts to sift through.
Notwithstanding the trust, my past experience is still fresh in my mind. I have seen so many third-party projects hastily awarded and carried out where the rationale or fundamentals were lacking in the first place.
We are anxiously waiting for the full explanation this time around.
Philip S. K. Leung, Pok Fu Lam
http://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1897024/letters-editor-january-2-2016