A Shijiazhuang government leader apologised yesterday over its handling of the tainted-milk scandal, which resulted in 'huge damage' to people's lives and safety because of delays in reporting the problem to senior authorities.
Wang Jianguo , spokesman and deputy secretary general of the city government, also admitted that it could not shirk its responsibility as a local authority, and he expressed his regret and apologies to baby victims and their parents.
The remarks by Mr Wang, which Xinhua reported yesterday, came after reshuffles in the city government leadership precipitated by revelations that officials had learned that the infant formula produced by Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu was contaminated in early August, but had not immediately reported the problem to the Hebei provincial government or Beijing.
It also ignored calls from New Zealand-based Fonterra, which owned a 43 per cent stake in Sanlu, to carry out a public recall. The incident came to light only after Fonterra sought help from the New Zealand government, which alerted Beijing early last month.
Mr Wang said Shijiazhuang officials had lacked 'political sensitivity' and carried out orders from above without thinking about the wider implications.
'We didn't look at the problems exposed by the Sanlu incident from the perspective of the people's safety and health,' he was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
