In the past week, the northern provinces and cities of China have been hit by rare heavy rainstorms, leading to serious flooding in multiple reservoirs and causing major disasters in Beijing. The official death toll in Beijing reached 44 by July 30, with another 9 people missing, including 31 elderly residents of a nursing home who drowned on the morning of the 28th. Official negligence has sparked widespread criticism from internet users, with some commentators suggesting that Beijing Municipal Party Secretary Yin Li may be in trouble.
On July 31, the Beijing municipal government held a press conference confirming that as of noon that day, the death toll from the disaster had reached 44, with 9 people missing or unaccounted for. Among them, 31 people died in the flood in the Tai Shitun town in Miyun District.
However, it is believed by outsiders that the official figures from the Chinese Communist Party may be understated.
The incident occurred on the morning of July 28. Yu Weiguo, the party secretary of Miyun District, stated that the nursing home is located in the Tai Shitun town upstream of the Miyun Reservoir, with a total of 77 people on that day, including 8 staff members and 69 elderly residents, of whom 55 were disabled or semi-disabled.
On July 30, the Communist Party held a Politburo meeting, which showed that Beijing Municipal Party Secretary Yin Li was absent. According to the Beijing Daily report, on that day, Yin Li visited Miyun District and Pinggu District to inspect the disaster situation, and went to the nursing home in Tai Shitun town.
According to the “Production Safety Law” of the Chinese Communist Party, a death toll exceeding 30 people, or a serious injury toll exceeding 100 people, or direct economic losses exceeding 100 million yuan can be classified as a major accident.
Commentator Li Muyang stated in a self-media program that the death toll from the Beijing flood far exceeds 30 people, and that the State Council may intervene. He suggested that Yin Li may face accountability, as his statements now may not be enough to absolve him from responsibility.
Li Muyang mentioned that Yin Li is a prominent figure in the Shandong Gang and has a close relationship with Peng Liyuan. In March 2009, then Deputy Minister of Health Yin Li and tuberculosis prevention and control ambassador Peng Liyuan attended a promotional event in Guangdong. In June 2011, under the operation of Yin Li, Peng Liyuan was appointed by the World Health Organization as a goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis and AIDS prevention and control.
Moreover, independent commentator Du Zheng revealed in an article for Taiwanese media “Shang Bao” on July 27 that after the Evergrande boss Xu Jiayin lost his freedom, he provided a long list of high-ranking officials to the authorities. The article mentioned that on August 26, 2017, Xu Jiayin met with Yin Li, then Deputy Party Secretary and Governor of Sichuan Province, at the Evergrande Center in Guangzhou and jointly attended the signing ceremony of the strategic cooperation agreement between Evergrande Group and the Sichuan Provincial Government.
Du Zheng stated that the Xu Jiayin case is a “firebomb” in the CCP officialdom, and that if more surprising individuals are removed or demoted in succession, they may be connected to Xu Jiayin, but the authorities are reluctant to provide details.
Yu Weiguo, the party secretary of Miyun District in Beijing, reported at a press conference yesterday that the nursing home in Tai Shitun was always in a “safe zone” and was not included in the evacuation range of the flood prevention contingency plan. He admitted that there were loopholes in the plan, and that the authorities lacked understanding of extreme weather conditions.
Internet users have criticized the government for dereliction of duty. Some netizens believe that the Miyun government is “a family of disabilities” and suggest holding relevant personnel accountable after the rescue operations end.
Li Muyang commented that the Beijing flood this time, on the surface, may seem like a natural disaster, but in essence, it is a combination of natural disaster and human error. The meteorological department had issued warnings earlier, and the elderly and nursing homes should have been the priority to focus on, but the official contingency plans were clearly lacking. Furthermore, in the entire flooding incident, the loss of life was not only caused by the flood from heavy rain, but also due to the unexpected discharge of water from the upstream reservoirs leading to a rapid rise in water levels downstream.
Authorities emphasized that the nursing home is located upstream of the Miyun Reservoir, but many netizens questioned, “How did the flood come about – was it caused by mountain torrents or reservoir discharge?” The authorities did not provide a response.
On July 27, various mainland Chinese media outlets, including Miyun Reservoir, reported that at least 9 reservoirs discharged water that day: Qinglongxia Reservoir at the intersection of Miyun and Huairou discharged water; 3 reservoirs in Huairou discharged water, including Huairou Reservoir, Beitai Shan Reservoir, and Dashuyu Reservoir; Pinggu had 5 reservoirs discharging water, including Hai Zi, Xi Yu, Huang Yu, Yang Jia Tai, and Hua Yu Reservoirs.
It is worth noting that CCP leader Xi Jinping, in his directive on July 28, mentioned that heavy rainfall had caused “serious casualties” in Beijing and other areas in North China, while Premier Li Keqiang referred to “significant casualties” in the Beijing Miyun flood. However, it was only after Xi and Li mentioned the serious casualties that the Beijing authorities announced on the morning of July 29 that 30 people died in the flood, deviating from the usual practice, sparking discussions in the public domain. And it was only on July 30 that the Beijing authorities released the death toll from the nursing home on the morning of the 28th, a delay of two days.
Current affairs commentator Li Linyi told Da Ji Yuan that this shows that when it comes to death toll figures from natural disasters compounded by human error, the timing and quantity of disclosure by the CCP officials are mainly considered for maintaining political stability and internal power struggles. Although eventually some officials may be scapegoated based on internal compromises, in reality, if it were an elected government, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, and the CCP itself should have taken responsibility and stepped down a long time ago.