Economic Observer Online
Dec 29, 2011
Translated by Zhu Na
Original Article: [Chinese]

Serious design flaws, mismanagement, and a poor emergency response to equipment failure were the major causes of July 23’s fatal bullet train collision, which left 40 people dead and many others injured, a government investigation revealed.

54 officials were held responsible for the Wenzhou train accident, according to the long-awaited report that was disclosed during the State Council executive meeting that Premier Wen Jiabao chaired on Wednesday (Dec 28).

The investigation identified Liu Zhijun (刘志军), the former minister of Ministry of Railways, and Zhang Shuguang (张曙光), the former deputy chief engineer, as those bearing “major leadership responsibility for the accident.”

Both were earlier removed from the office before the train accident, having been found guilty of “severe discipline violations.”

In addition, Ma Cheng (马骋), the general manager of China Railway Signal and Communication Corp., who died from a heart attack a month after the train crash, was also held responsible.

The meeting said there is also an independent judicial investigation into the accident to determine whether the officials commited a crime.

The central government also ordered the Railway Ministry and Sheng Guangzu (盛光祖), the current railway minister, to make a complete self-criticism to the State Council, respectively.

This translated brief was edited by Darwin Wally T. Wee.

Links and Sources
Gov.cn:  温家宝主持召开国务院常务会议 听取“7•23”甬温线特别重大铁路交通事故调查情况汇报
Image: Xinhua News Agency