WOW, they are serious about party image!
Posted on 02/19/2011 11:10:29 AM PST by mathprof
In his seven years as chief of the Chinese Railways Ministry, Liu Zhijun built a commercial and political colossus that spanned continents and elevated the lowly train to a national symbol of pride and technological prowess.
His abrupt sacking by the Communist Party is casting that empire in a decidedly different light, raising doubts not only about Mr. Liu’s stewardship and the corruption that dogs China’s vast public-works projects, but also, perhaps, the safety, financial soundness and long-term viability of a rail system that has captured the world’s attention.
Mr. Liu, 58, was fired Saturday and is being investigated by the party’s disciplinary committee for “severe violations of discipline,” a euphemism for corruption. His high government rank — minister-level officials are rarely fired under such a cloud — hints at far deeper dissatisfaction with one of China’s most publicized and sweeping domestic initiatives.
Until last week, Mr. Liu had led China’s program to lace the nation with nearly 8,100 miles of high-speed rail lines and to build more than 11,000 miles of traditional railroad lines. The sheer size and cost of the endeavor — the investment has been estimated at $750 billion, some $395 billion for high-speed rail alone — has led experts to compare it to the transcontinental railroad that opened the American West.
President Obama hailed China’s program in his State of the Union address and called for the United States to move quickly on high-speed rail plans that had been repeatedly delayed by budget concerns and political infighting.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Choo Choo Ping.
A certain exiled FReeper shall be deeply saddened.
That's what "winning the future" means to Democrats.
The problem with a rail system for so vast an area as China is that, first, it is indeed vast, and, second, rail cannot be easily adapted to technological changes.
Our high speed rail is the 737.
WOW, they are serious about party image!
Saddened?? Hell’s bells, Willie jumped the first jet to Beijing to apply for the job.
China is a heavily populated country. Rail would be viable for the eastern third of the nation where most of the 1 billion people live. That makes it very different from America.
But as usual, his idea of winning the future means a one-way ticket to the past.
Self-exiled along with a modest opus
Yeah, it wasn’t even a really good opus.
I wonder what his new Chinese name is...
But...But...I thought Communist China was the economic engine of the world? They were superior to the USA...as the supporters of Free Trade with Communist China always told us
I guess more spin from the Free Trade Communists
Hung Chow?
How about just Hung Liu?
If you think this is bad news, wait until Three Gorges Dam begins to leak...
I read about this rail fiasco on an investment website, where they really try to get it right. They said the system is deeply in the red because few Chinese can afford to ride the bullet.
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