One of the symbols of China's progress to modernity and technological prowess has been the high-speed rail system. Recently China bristled at Japanese accusations purporting that China had stolen Japanese technology in this field. Nonsense replied the Chinese; Chinese technology was actually superior to Japanese rail technology.
Therefore, the recent train crash that killed at least 43 people and injured hundreds of others on one of these prestige lines has caused consternation to the government that does not know how to field it.
The Propaganda Department has forbidden Chinese journalists from conducting independent interviews on the topic and prohibits them even from linking reports with articles on the development of high-speed trains.
Another tactic has been to attack the railway bureaucracy and present the party higher-ups as crusaders. The Global Times, the English language version of the official party organ the People's Daily, carried an article "Anger Mounts at the Lack of Answers on Train Crash". This means that this targeted anger enjoys political sanction.
A video showing a railway car being buried engendered suspicion that a cover-up of the incident was in progress. Unofficial polls posted and quickly removed on websites confirmed popular distrust. The official news agency Xinhua took cognizance of this mood and hastened to explain that the damaged carriages were removed to speed the rescue effort.
One theory about the crashes claims that the rail network, whose construction had been accelerated to meet political timetables such as the centenary of the Communist Party's establishment in 1911, cut corners of safety and system integration.