China To Resume Tibet Talks Climate Comments Cause A Stir Milk Scandal Resurfaces An End To Lobbying? Google's Gamble Democratic Dispute Pollution Protest Tennis Triumph
For years, oil on the Chinese market has been sold to companies at two different prices—the official price and the smuggled price. Just last week, a cargo ship carrying tons of smuggled diesel was seized by police in Wenzhou, a city in China’s southern Zhejiang province. The ship was carrying more than 800 thousand U-S dollars worth of diesel. The case has put the smuggling industry in the spotlight.
The 2008 toxic milk scandal was one of the worst food safety scandals in recent history. The chemical melamine, used in making plastics and fertilizers, had been added to watered-down milk, in order to raise protein levels and fool food safety inspectors.
The tainted milk powder was responsible for the deaths of at least six babies and caused illness in around 300,000 people.
It also caused a collapse in public confidence in food safety, brought the ever-sensitive topic of political corruption to the fore once more, as well as severely damaging the reputation of China's exports, with 11 countries stopping all imports of Chinese dairy produce.