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Shanghai Blames Local Officials and Police in Deadly New Year’s Stampede Shanghai Blames Local Officials and Police in Deadly New Year’s Stampede
(about 4 hours later)
HONG KONG — The Shanghai city government has blamed poor preparations and lax management by local officials and the police for a stampede that killed 36 people at a popular tourist site on New Year’s Eve, according to an official report released on Wednesday. HONG KONG — The Shanghai city government dismissed two officials on Wednesday after releasing a report that blamed poor preparations and lax policing for a stampede that killed 36 people at a popular tourist site on New Year’s Eve.
The report said investigators had recommended that officials from Huangpu District, which includes the site of the disaster on Shanghai’s riverfront, be dismissed or punished.
The deadly pandemonium broke out on the Bund, a historic area with a spectacular view of the city’s skyline, where tens of thousands had gathered to celebrate the New Year. In addition to the deaths, 49 people were injured, and the subsequent wave of grief and anger put pressure on the Shanghai government to account for how it had allowed the surging crowds on Chen Yi Square on the Bund to descend into surging panic.The deadly pandemonium broke out on the Bund, a historic area with a spectacular view of the city’s skyline, where tens of thousands had gathered to celebrate the New Year. In addition to the deaths, 49 people were injured, and the subsequent wave of grief and anger put pressure on the Shanghai government to account for how it had allowed the surging crowds on Chen Yi Square on the Bund to descend into surging panic.
Citing a Shanghai government inquiry, the state news agency Xinhua said investigators had concluded that the deaths were the result of a deadly compound of official errors. The stampede resulted from “inadequate safeguards and preparation for a public activity, lax management on the scene and an inappropriate response,” Xinhua said. The Shanghai government inquiry concluded that the deaths resulted from a compound of errors, oversights and misjudgments by officials in the Huangpu District, which encompasses the Bund. The stampede was caused by “inadequate safeguards and preparation for a public activity, lax management on the scene and an inappropriate response,” the state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing the report.
“Apathy among leading officials is the biggest danger to urban public safety,” said the report, according to The Paper, a Chinese online news service. Only 558 law enforcement personnel and guards, including 350 police officers, were initially deployed around the Bund, and after they were overwhelmed by the crowds, officials did too little, too late to bring in reinforcements, the investigators concluded. Only 558 law enforcement personnel and guards, including 350 police officers, were initially deployed around the Bund, and after they were overwhelmed by the crowds, officials did too little, too late to bring in reinforcements and contain the increasingly alarmed crowd, the investigators concluded. But the report put responsibility on the district administration and the police, rather than on more senior city officials.
The investigators recommended that Zhou Wei, the Communist Party secretary of Huangpu District, and Peng Song, the head of the district government, both be dismissed from their jobs. Nine other district officials, including the local public security chief, should also be dismissed, demoted or given administrative penalties, the investigators said, according to Xinhua. The Huangpu District government “failed to take very seriously the safety risks from the concentration of people,” said the report, according to excerpts issued on Chinese news websites. “The police forces deployed to the site were clearly inadequate,” it added.
The investigators recommended that Zhou Wei, the Communist Party secretary of Huangpu District, and Peng Song, the head of the district government, both be dismissed from their jobs, and later in the day the Shanghai government announced that they had been replaced. Nine other district officials, including the local public security chief, should also be dismissed, demoted or given administrative penalties, the investigators said, according to Xinhua.
The deaths were particularly jarring for Shanghai, a business-driven city with a reputation for more efficient administration than other huge Chinese cities. The city government restricted news coverage of the stampede and sought to prevent families of victims from speaking to journalists.The deaths were particularly jarring for Shanghai, a business-driven city with a reputation for more efficient administration than other huge Chinese cities. The city government restricted news coverage of the stampede and sought to prevent families of victims from speaking to journalists.
On Dec. 31, hundreds of police officers attempting to keep order around the Bund were overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of revelers, many of them oblivious to the city’s earlier announcement that there would be no big midnight light display for them to watch. Near midnight, the crammed crowd broke into convulsions of panic near Chen Yi Square.On Dec. 31, hundreds of police officers attempting to keep order around the Bund were overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of revelers, many of them oblivious to the city’s earlier announcement that there would be no big midnight light display for them to watch. Near midnight, the crammed crowd broke into convulsions of panic near Chen Yi Square.
Public ire resurfaced last week after a Chinese magazine reported that on New Year’s Eve, district and state company officials in charge of managing the Bund area had dined at an expensive Japanese restaurant near where the deadly stampede occurred.Public ire resurfaced last week after a Chinese magazine reported that on New Year’s Eve, district and state company officials in charge of managing the Bund area had dined at an expensive Japanese restaurant near where the deadly stampede occurred.
On Wednesday, the Shanghai government announced that the officials, including Mr. Zhou and Mr. Peng — the Huangpu District leaders — would be punished for attending that dinner, though the announcement did not suggest that their actions played a direct role in causing the stampede.On Wednesday, the Shanghai government announced that the officials, including Mr. Zhou and Mr. Peng — the Huangpu District leaders — would be punished for attending that dinner, though the announcement did not suggest that their actions played a direct role in causing the stampede.
“If leading officials at all levels had a stronger awareness of safety, if all of the safety measures had been more firmly in place, this incident could have been entirely avoided,” Han Zheng, the Communist Party secretary of Shanghai, said after the report was released, according to Eastday, the city’s official news website.