Recently, a report by the Chinese newspaper “New Beijing News” exposed a food safety issue involving oil tankers transporting diesel followed by edible oil. Former journalist Chu Chaoxin, who previously worked for the “New Beijing News” and “Southern Weekend,” criticized the newspaper in a post titled “People Without Conscience,” stating that the newspaper faced an onslaught after the revelation, leaving people feeling chilled.
Chu Chaoxin, a two-time recipient of the Southern Media Group’s “Journalist of the Year” award, expressed his concerns that some individuals resorted to attacking the media and reporters who expose issues related to public health and food safety concerning millions of people.
According to Chu Chaoxin’s post on WeChat, he pointed out that after the “New Beijing News” exposed the issue of oil tankers mixing diesel and edible oil, it faced attacks from “some despicable individuals, which is disheartening.”
In the current Chinese media environment, where the focus on public welfare and food safety issues is crucial for the well-being of the population, Chu Chaoxin criticized those who question the integrity of the exposed media and journalists.
He highlighted that some people often resort to blaming and attacking the media by claiming it is influenced by foreign forces and engages in selective reporting. However, he stressed that those with a bit of intelligence would understand that if the media were truly controlled by foreign forces, it would have been shut down long ago, and the staff would have been arrested.
The article emphasized the significance of the “New Beijing News” exposing the tainted oil issue to protect the ordinary citizens of the country, including those participating in the attacks against the newspaper, highlighting the irony that the newspaper is trying to safeguard the public while being undermined by the very individuals it seeks to protect.
Chu Chaoxin shared his own experience with similar incidents, recounting an article he wrote in June addressing industrial pollution in his hometown. Despite raising concerns over pollution instances, local officials dismissed his claims, labeling the article as merely spreading rumors.
Earlier this month, the “New Beijing News” exclusively revealed the scandal of oil tankers mixing edible oils. Investigative journalists discovered that many tankers in China transport both edible liquids such as syrup and soybean oil, as well as chemical liquids like coal oil. Some tankers skip cleaning the tanks during the cargo switch, leading to contamination of edible oil by residual chemical liquids.
The report disclosed an incident where a tanker transported coal-made oil from Ningxia to Qinhuangdao in Hebei, unloaded the cargo, and without cleaning the storage tank, directly loaded edible soybean oil for further transportation.
The investigative journalist behind the report, Han Futao, had his Weibo account deactivated following the release of the report, raising concerns among mainland Chinese netizens about his personal safety.
These recent events highlight the importance of media transparency and accountability in safeguarding public health and food safety, despite facing challenges and backlash from various quarters.