Tianjin blasts shake public confidence in leadership, analysts say
Experts argue top officials appear more concerned with the bigger picture of the political – rather than the chemical – fallout
The twin explosions that convulsed Tianjin have not only taken more than a hundred people’s lives but also dealt a big political blow to the leadership under Communist Party chief President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
Horror over the disaster at a chemical storage site in the northeastern Chinese metropolis last Wednesday has now turned to public anger over a perceived government failure to handle the aftermath of the crisis.
“It is definitely the biggest political blow [yet] to the Xi-Li administration as the blasts exposed deep-rooted flaws in a political system that the new leadership had refused to address and their failure in handling the aftermath,” said Zhang Lifan, a Beijing-based political commentator.
Xigen Li, an associate professor at City University of Hong Kong’s department of media and communications, said the unprecedented scale of the disaster made it a challenge for the government to respond promptly.
The leadership now faced growing public outrage over the blasts, as people seek answers to a series of unanswered questions.
Were the workers at the facility owned by Ruihai International Logistics properly trained? Were firefighters properly informed about the nature of the fire before they arrived on the scene. Is the city’s air safe to breathe and is its water drinkable?