The scandal of slavery practice in
Shanxi has shocked the Chinese society and prompted the Central
government to take immediate action. The poor peasants including children were lured and abducted by human traffickers and forced to work in illegal brick kilns where they were treated in inhumane ways. The slavery scandal together with recent tragic incidents like the collapse of a bridge and drinking water tainted by blue green algae, just to name a few, ring the alarm of substandard governance and corrupted officials a widespread phenomenon in China.
Since the practice of market economy, the GDP of China has risen several folds and she has become an
influential player in the arena of world economy and politics. Being a
WTO member and the host of 2008 Olympic Games is a token telling the world that China is on the right track of meeting with the rules of game that abide the world players.
The sole pursuit of GDP growth does not make China a respectable rising power. Restructuring local government for the sake of curbing collusion , opening more avenues for political participation of the impoverished, improving education of the general public and lifting restriction on the freedom of press are key elements of a civilized nation.
Despite the fact that the unravel of human trafficking is a disgrace of our nation, which urges to be a rising power on par with the Western counterparts, credit should be given to mainland media for their effort of disclosing this scandal to the public. In the past, the Central G
overnment treated scandals of this kind as sensitive information that threaten national security. The lessened restriction on media and encouragement of investigative journalism will serve as the 'fourth power' monitoring the proper governance of the local government .
