IV

I'm sure everybody has heard of the melamine scandal by now. Of how melamine, an industrial chemical normally used to make plastics, were found in food products made in China. There was this article in the Lianhe Zao Bao last week that spoke of this problem and how it relates to the emergence of a business-centred, corruption-based culture in China.

Corruption and graft in China is more or less an open secret. Government officials expect it, businessmen encourage it, the people suffer it. The milk scandal is just one of the many examples of what happens when officials are willing to turn a blind eye for cash. 

What the author, who profess to be a Chinese national, fears is that corruption which is merely tolerated might have become accepted; that graft has become part of the cultural norm in China. With the boom in China's economy in recent years, it is not surprising that all the common man on the street thinks about is how to make it rich. But what is worrisome is the willingness of some to achieve that aim at the expense of others. 

The Chinese government seem intent on achieving economic prosperity as well. The author cited an example of a party of Chinese delegates that were here in Singapore to learn more on the policies of the Singapore government. They learnt about the economic and city building policies for these are the backbones of a strong economy. They thought that is what the people want. They are right in that sense. What the people need though, is something else. The policies they learnt can help shape a healthy economy but do nothing in shaping the people that can fuel the economy.

The milk scandal is merely the prelude to the impact of a culture where everything goes and money is king would have on its people as well as the rest of the world. Will the author's fears come true or is it too late already?