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Corruption appears to be at root of Tianjin blasts

TIANJIN — The Mayor of the northern Chinese city where huge explosions killed more than 100 people last week took responsibility for the disaster yesterday, as the authorities sought to contain growing anger fuelled by mounting evidence that political malfeasance and rampant safety violations played a significant role in the disaster.

An aerial photo of the site of the explosions at the industrial plant and nearby residential areas in the Binhai new district in Tianjin, China. Photo: Reuters

An aerial photo of the site of the explosions at the industrial plant and nearby residential areas in the Binhai new district in Tianjin, China. Photo: Reuters

TIANJIN — The Mayor of the northern Chinese city where huge explosions killed more than 100 people last week took responsibility for the disaster yesterday, as the authorities sought to contain growing anger fuelled by mounting evidence that political malfeasance and rampant safety violations played a significant role in the disaster.

“I bear unshirkable responsibility for this accident as head of the city,” said Mr Huang Xingguo, the Mayor and acting Communist Party secretary of the metropolis, Tianjin, in his first news conference since the blasts occurred at a chemical warehouse on last Wednesday.

The authorities have said the explosions killed 114 people and injured 674, and that more than 17,000 homes were damaged. Displaced residents have protested for days in Tianjin to demand that the government buy back their homes, which they say are now worthless after it emerged that the authorities have repaired some of the properties. By Monday, more than 700 of these properties had undergone repairs by the authorities. “No repairing! Buy our houses!” shouted more than 100 protestors yesterday.

A man who lives less than 1km from the blast site, who wanted to be known as Mr Wang, said he was concerned that the government would not carry out a careful safety assessment of the damaged buildings. “I hope the owners will be able to take part in any assessment,” he said. “The government has no credibility now.”

The authorities have struggled to contain mounting public anger and distrust in the aftermath of the explosions.

Since last Wednesday’s still-unexplained accident, the government has repeatedly insisted that effective measures are being taken to ensure the air in Tianjin remains safe.

But when rain fell on Tuesday, the city’s streets began to foam and people reported burning sensations on their lips and elbows.

As they did after previous disasters, the Chinese authorities have tried to block reporting that makes the government appear to be at fault. But the system of information controls does not seem effective this time.

The nation has watched in real time as government censors deleted online investigative reports, erased microblog posts and abruptly cut off a nationally televised news conference after local officials appeared unwilling to answer even basic questions about which dangerous chemicals were at the blast zone and why they had been stored close to residential areas.

“They are definitely trying to cover it up,” Ms Yuan Ping, 30, a telecommunications worker whose apartment was heavily damaged in the explosions, said in a phone interview.

Ms Yuan said she and her family were so frustrated by a lack of official support that they were considering suing the government and the company that owned the facility, Ruihai International Logistics. “I wouldn’t believe even a single word from them,” she said. “The government is doing everything on the surface.”

Suspicions of a cover-up are so widespread that the Communist Party’s official newspaper, People’s Daily, published an explicit denial and promised a transparent investigation. “What need would there be to hold back and cover up a safety incident?” it said.

The Mayor’s appearance came as China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported that two major shareholders in the company that owns the facility had used their political connections to win government approvals for the site, despite clear violations of rules prohibiting the storage of hazardous chemicals within 1km of residential areas.

The two are Mr Yu Xuewei, the company chairman and a former executive at a state-owned chemical company, and Mr Dong Shexuan, the vice-chairman and the son of a former police chief at the port where the warehouse is. The two executives, who concealed their ownership stakes behind a murky corporate structure, told Xinhua that they used their personal relationships with government officials to obtain licenses for the site. Both men have been detained.

“The first safety appraisal company said our warehouses were too close to the apartment building,” said Mr Dong, 34, referring to a residential complex that was severely damaged and now stands empty. “Then we found another company who got us the documents we needed.”

The executives established Ruihai in 2012, but had other people list their shares to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. Mr Yu, 41, admitted that he held 55 per cent of the shares through his cousin, Mr Li Liang, the president of the company. Mr Dong holds 45 per cent of the shares through a former classmate.

“I had my schoolmate hold shares for me because of my father,” a former police chief for the Port of Tianjin who died last year, Mr Dong told Xinhua.

“If the news of me investing in a business leaked, it could have brought bad influence.”

Mr Huang, Tianjin’s Mayor, yesterday promised a thorough and transparent investigation of Ruihai. “No matter who owns the company, what kind of connection there is, we will investigate until the end,” he said.

Other officials sought to dispel fears about the spread of nerve gas in Tianjin, which had been previously reported. “We haven’t detected this substance,” said Mr Wen Wurui, director of the city’s environmental protection bureau. AGENCIES

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