planet earth looks blue

The Chinese milk scandal that began last fall ended with a bang.  Two men were given the death sentence, a third, a suspended death sentence.  15 others were given prison terms ranging from 2 to 15 years.  And then the high-profile accused - Ms. Tian Wenhua a former member of the Chinese Communist Party and chairwoman of the Chinese dairy company responsible for the tainted milk, Sanlu, took a life-sentence.  

Sanlu was mixing melamine, a toxic chemical, into watered-down milk.  The melamine made the milk appear to be normal, protein-rich  milk.  Since the scandal broke out, there has been an epidemic of poison-milk related illnesses, that many parents are afraid will effect their children in the future.  At least six children died, while 300,000 took ill, many in the hospital with kidney stones.  

Parents are still upset, and rightfully so.  Many blame the government’s failure to regulate the milk industry, and feel that the milk producers, workers, and executive that were sentenced were just scapegoats, leaving many who were involved in the scandal untouched.  And more importantly, the parents want their children to be well.  They want their government to investigate the long-term affects of melamine, and to be responsible for health-care costs due to the poison.  The government instead threw a little money to some of the victim’s parents, leaving many with no compensation. 

As to the Chinese sense of justice, and the strong, swift sword of the executioner, well, it does seem a little disconcerting.  And what will the world be like as China is on the rise to becoming a, if not the, world superpower?  The death sentence is always a dangerous issue, and this is a harsh, cold example of why.  The men who actually received death, well, they were probably not the ones that made the decision to soup up the watered-down milk with a toxic substance.  Logic would tell you it was those who profited most from the choice who made it.