At Least 35 Dead In Shanghai

[Thomas Promise]

At least 35 people were killed and 42 were injured in a stampede during a New Year's celebration in Shanghai, on the city's famed waterfront tourist strip known as the Bund, Chinese media reported.

No one knows yet what caused this tradgedy. This reminds me of The Who Concert in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1979.

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/least-35-dead-42-injured-shanghai-years-stampede-212956687.html?clear=cache

Edited December 31, 2014 by Thomas Promise (see edit history)

[Randy W]

How the Communist Party works - the 'blame (and/or avoid blame) game' is often at the forefront. From the SCMP

 

Censors suppress Shanghai stampede coverage as blame game begins

 

Local sources said the censorship was "unprecedented and harsh" and officials were worried that they could be blamed for the stampede that killed at least 36 people.

A police source said many Huangpu district officials and police were likely to lose their jobs over the incident.

 

Huangpu police admitted on Thursday that they underestimated the number of people showing up on the Bund, deploying fewer officers for the event than were needed.

"A lot of heads will roll" because the tragedy had infuriated state leaders, according to the senior police source.

 

. . .

 

The Communist Party's propaganda department in Shanghai has issued several notices to local media in the past two days, instructing them on various issues, ranging from the scale of coverage and use of photos to interview protocols, according to three senior journalists.

 

"It seems ridiculous that local newspapers were instructed not to use photos showing people mourning for the dead victims," a senior newspaper editor said.

 

The stampede's cause has not been identified but media and government officials said they expected the authorities to gradually play down the incident by describing it as a simple accident.

 

Pundits are also watching to see if the city's party secretary Han Zheng and mayor Yang Xiong suffer in the political fallout.

 

"It is a do-or-die moment for many of the city's officials now," a source said. "Shanghai police and the propaganda department are doing their utmost to avoid negative reports."