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After China's deadly chemical disaster, a shattered region weighs cost of the rush to 'get rich'
Source: Reuters
After China’s deadly chemical disaster, a shattered region weighs cost of the rush to ‘get rich’
By Gerry Shih March 31 at 2:59 PM
-snip-
To the residents of Xiangshui county, about 200 miles north of Shanghai, the Tianjiayi explosion on March 21 wasn’t so much an accident as an inevitability.
Over the past two decades, local officials have transformed this once-overlooked coastal expanse of wheat and rice farms into one of China’s major chemical-production centers, tripling the region’s economic output in the process.
But the reckless search for economic salvation condemned the community instead. The toll, locals say, has been polluted rivers, toxic soil, four major explosions in 12 years and a litany of smaller accidents that turned the terrifying into the routine.
Three years after a similar blast in Tianjin killed more than 170 people southeast of Beijing, the Xiangshui disaster is a reminder of the domestic challenges facing President Xi Jinping, who has vowed to pursue safe, “high-quality” development but also keep the sagging economy and employment numbers afloat.
-snip-
By Gerry Shih March 31 at 2:59 PM
-snip-
To the residents of Xiangshui county, about 200 miles north of Shanghai, the Tianjiayi explosion on March 21 wasn’t so much an accident as an inevitability.
Over the past two decades, local officials have transformed this once-overlooked coastal expanse of wheat and rice farms into one of China’s major chemical-production centers, tripling the region’s economic output in the process.
But the reckless search for economic salvation condemned the community instead. The toll, locals say, has been polluted rivers, toxic soil, four major explosions in 12 years and a litany of smaller accidents that turned the terrifying into the routine.
Three years after a similar blast in Tianjin killed more than 170 people southeast of Beijing, the Xiangshui disaster is a reminder of the domestic challenges facing President Xi Jinping, who has vowed to pursue safe, “high-quality” development but also keep the sagging economy and employment numbers afloat.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/after-chinas-deadly-chemical-disaster-a-shattered-region-weighs-cost-of-the-rush-to-get-rich/2019/03/31/78cf3a5c-508b-11e9-bdb7-44f948cc0605_story.html
