Officials apologize for dumpster warnings
Source: Xinhua |
December 22, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BIJIE City officials have apologized to the public for "insulting" warnings painted on dumpsters one month after five street kids died in trash receptacles.
Twelve dumpsters in the city's Heguantun Township, Qixingguan District in Guizhou Province had warnings that read: "People or livestock, keep out."
Once photos of the dumpsters spread on the Internet, many people online said the warnings were "insulting."
Gao Dan, head of Heguantun Township, issued an apology on his microblog on Thursday.
"I understand that the inappropriate warnings on the dumpsters hurt the public's feelings. I sincerely apologize for that," Gao wrote.
Hu Shulong, deputy chief of Qixingguan, admitted the warnings reflected the township government's lack of a sense of responsibility.
Yesterday, the warnings was painted over with characters that read "Garbage comes in, healthy and civilized."
A photo of the dumpster warnings had been forwarded 132,144 times as of yesterday morning after it was posted on the microblogging site Weibo.com on Wednesday afternoon.
Many netizens said the warnings essentially compared street kids to animals.
Last month, five street kids died in dumpsters in Bijie. The children were using the dumpsters as shelter from the cold and burned charcoal inside the trash receptacles to stay warm. They died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the fumes.
Many online comments said stray children would not have used the dumpsters if they had other shelters to go to and animals can't read the signs, thus the warnings were pointless.
The warning signs were painted on the dumpsters after the deaths.
The death of the five street kids has saddened many across the country as it has been interpreted as a sign the nation has failed to give sufficient care to its youngsters while the economy has continued to strengthen.
The children were identified as so-called left-behind children, or kids who are taken care of by relatives such as grandparents while their parents pursue work in other cities.
Reporters who found the children's homes after their deaths found the rundown houses were "no better than the dumpsters."
Qixingguan, home to hundreds of left-behind children, has since set up aid stations and launched 24-hour patrols on major roads to take stray kids to shelters.
Twelve dumpsters in the city's Heguantun Township, Qixingguan District in Guizhou Province had warnings that read: "People or livestock, keep out."
Once photos of the dumpsters spread on the Internet, many people online said the warnings were "insulting."
Gao Dan, head of Heguantun Township, issued an apology on his microblog on Thursday.
"I understand that the inappropriate warnings on the dumpsters hurt the public's feelings. I sincerely apologize for that," Gao wrote.
Hu Shulong, deputy chief of Qixingguan, admitted the warnings reflected the township government's lack of a sense of responsibility.
Yesterday, the warnings was painted over with characters that read "Garbage comes in, healthy and civilized."
A photo of the dumpster warnings had been forwarded 132,144 times as of yesterday morning after it was posted on the microblogging site Weibo.com on Wednesday afternoon.
Many netizens said the warnings essentially compared street kids to animals.
Last month, five street kids died in dumpsters in Bijie. The children were using the dumpsters as shelter from the cold and burned charcoal inside the trash receptacles to stay warm. They died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the fumes.
Many online comments said stray children would not have used the dumpsters if they had other shelters to go to and animals can't read the signs, thus the warnings were pointless.
The warning signs were painted on the dumpsters after the deaths.
The death of the five street kids has saddened many across the country as it has been interpreted as a sign the nation has failed to give sufficient care to its youngsters while the economy has continued to strengthen.
The children were identified as so-called left-behind children, or kids who are taken care of by relatives such as grandparents while their parents pursue work in other cities.
Reporters who found the children's homes after their deaths found the rundown houses were "no better than the dumpsters."
Qixingguan, home to hundreds of left-behind children, has since set up aid stations and launched 24-hour patrols on major roads to take stray kids to shelters.
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