Chinese Government Official Smiling at Tragic Accident Scene

From Sina:

Shaanxi Yan’an Sleeper Coach Fire After Rear-End Collision, 36 Dead

Xinhuanet Xi’an August 26th news (Reported by Tao Ming, Shi Zhiyong) At 10 o’clock on the 26th, reporters learned from the scene that 36 people have been confirmed to have died in the terrible traffic accident that happened that morning within Yan’an city limits in Shaanxi province.

reporters learned that the bus in the accident was allowed to carry 39 passengers, and was carrying 39 passengers. After the accident took place, 3 passengers escaped and survived.

On the 26th at about 2am, a terrible traffic accident happened 200 meters away from the south exit of the Huaziping service area on Baomao Highway within the borders of Yan’an city of Shaanxi province. A double-decker sleeper coach with license plate number “蒙AK1475” crashed into the rear of a tanker (containing methanol) with license plate number “豫RHD6962”, and setting the two vehicles on fire.

From QQ:

“Smiling Official” From the Scene of the Shaanxi Traffic Accident Has Previously Worn Many Expensive Watches

After the tragic traffic accident in Shaanxi, among the pictures that Xinhuanet took at the scene, one was of a local government official “stupidly laughing/smiling” at the accident scene. After this picture spread on Weibo, netizens were very much upset by it. Netizens quickly human flesh searched the official in the picture, determining him to be Yang Dacai, director of the Shaanxi Province Administration of Work Safety. Netizens suspect he is not the first government official who has smiled in the face of a disaster. Some leaders smiled and took group pictures at the scene of the air crash in Yichun the year before last year. At last year’s Xi’an gas explosion, an official also smiled. This picture is of the official smiling at the scene of the accident. Photographed by the Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yibo.

While netizens were strongly condemning this official, a series of pictures showing this official wearing different wristwatches suspected of being of various famous international brands at different occasions was posted on the internet. Some netizens gathered public reports regarding Yang Dacai attending different activities and conferences, and found after comparing these pictures that when Yang attended different activities, he always changed the watches he wore, and that he had at least 5 different watches. Sun Duofei, COO of the 5lux.net said on Weibo that she had asked professional in the industry, “In the first picture: a Rolex Oyster Perpetual worth about 65,000 yuan. In the second one: an Omega worth about 35,000-40,000 yuan. In the third one: a Vacheron Constantin with 18k rose gold watch case, and mechanical, estimated market price varies between 200,000-400,000 yuan. In the forth one: an Omega, worth about 30,000-40,000 yuan. In the fifth one: a Rado Full-Ceramic, estimated market price 30,000 yuan.”

Among ordinary people, self-proclaimed watch identifying expert “花总丢了金箍棒” said that of these watch brands, “not many are first rate, mostly second rate, and mostly basic product lines”, and if they were all added together and if all genuine would be worth at least within 200,000 yuan.

“花总丢了金箍棒” became famous for collecting news pictures of officials attending different activities and identifying their watches on Weibo. He says that he took note of Yang Dacai a year ago, and claims that he has more than just these several watches.

These pictures are of Yang Dacai wearing different watches.

Comments from QQ:

腾讯网友 soberwu:

Inspecting visually from the first to the last: Longines, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, Omega, Rado, about 600,000 yuan.

Did this government director see watches as his life, abstaining from food and drink for 10 years, using all of his meager salary buying watches?

[Note: Government officials in China have relatively modest official salaries but are notorious for having a multitude of illegitimate “grey” income.]

腾讯济南市网友 赤练霓裳:

With a massive belly from overeating, smiling/laughing at a scene of death, simply inhuman. If those who died in the bus were his family members, would he still be able to smile? Wearing expensive watches, all from corruption. This kind of scumbag should be punished. A bastard dressed in human form but does no human things.

腾讯鹤壁市网友 明天会更好:

Just look at your corrupted belly, and the watches you wear for different occasions, all from the meager monthly salary. Hope the relevant authorities will bring this person under investigation.

腾讯网友 影子:

Actually, he had previously hid himself quite well, doing one thing in public and another in private. It’s just that he blew it this time, a smile which he will regret for the rest of his life!

腾讯石家庄市网友 农场主:

In many European countries, drivers’ working time is fixed, where one must rest from driving every two hours, and it can’t be violated. There’s a device in each vehicle similar to the black box on an airplane, where once the vehicle is started it begins to record, including measuring both a driver’s driving time and the frequency he rests every day, so as to prevent fatigue driving. So all the relevant authorities of China, stop passing the buck, because in the end, the problem with anything is whether you want to do something or not, not whether you have the ability to do so or the ability to do so well.

腾讯网友 易水一方:

Just look at this director of Administration of Work Safety, able to be at the scene where 36 people died yet still able to happily smile! What kind of person is he? A director of Administration of Work Safety still being able to smile/laugh at the scene where dozens of lives were lost. That a person like this can be the director of Administration of Work Safety, I don’t know whether it’s the tragedy of Shaanxi Province or it’s the tragedy of China. Strongly request our higher officials investigate this director of Administration of Work Safety who switches expensive watches every day, and give us ordinary common people an explanation!

腾讯保定市网友 lailai:

One must look at a problem from different angles, don’t just look at a problem from a grassroots [ordinary commoner’s] point of view! Behind everything there are many situations that you don’t understand. Our goal is to completely put an end to [traffic] accidents, to prevent accidents from happening, and not to wait until after an accident happens and then pursue responsibility/liability! Why do the grassroots always appeal for people to take responsibility instead of appealing for prevention? Accident happens, it’s inevitable. My opinion seems illogical, but it’s the truth! All kinds of accidents happen even in the most powerful country like America! The vast majority of accidents are caused by people’s carelessness. Find out [before accidents happen] and let [accidents] happen are two different concepts, the power of decision is in the hands of the people who are in charge! Each accident is a warning/wake-up call to us. On the surface, this “stupidly smiling” looks like apathy and indifference toward this accident! But to look deeper it’s about the question of which administration should be responsible. The grassroots know by the literal meaning that the Administration of Work Safety is in charge of working safely, but how many people really know about the Administration of Work Safety? The administrations carve up work safety for profits, most of the work safety is under control of other interest administrations. It’s very difficult for the Administration of Work Safety to supervise at the turfs of other interest administrations! You can show your sympathy, but don’t be angry, because you don’t understand!

腾讯网友 行动:

Speaking of corruption, I’d like to say something: the reformation of Chinese education is an issue people want to do something about the most, but it’s very difficult to really implement. For instance, if students from other provinces want to enter Qinghua [Tsinghua] or Beijing [Peking] University, he/she must have a score 200 points higher than local Beijing students. You see, it’s such a huge difference. Let’s put that aside. Right now there is a more realistic problem. Many children [from rural areas] are born in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, etc. and grow up in these big cities with their parents, and of course they should go to school in these big cities as well. But what happens to them when they’re about to have a school entrance exam? Since their hukou is registered in their hometowns, do they go back for middle school? Many children are ruined moving back home to attend middle school. Why do people say this? Parents’ incomes are definitely higher in big cities than in rural areas, but while the children go back home to study, the parents still have to stay and work. People from high-income areas returning to the rural areas are essentially like rich families. What happens to a child in their youth when they don’t have parents to look after them? And they become “rich second generation“. Relevant personnel can go investigate in different places. What would happen if middle school kids don’t have to go back to their home villages to go to school? Big cities always focus on integrated quality education, their cultural lessons can’t compare with those of small cities, if children go to middle school in big cities, in the future, with the difference of scores, can they still enter university? They’re smart like the other children, they’re excellent students at school, and their parents are mostly excellent too, but hukou changed the fate of some of these children. There are many situations like this, if officials like Big Belly Yang really do their duties, can they fix it?

腾讯金华市网友 ╭ァ軒ロ:

Since he loves smiling/laughing so much, I hope these unfortunate dead souls can just take him with them [into death]! Let him smile to his content down there [in hell].

腾讯成都市网友 我的太阳:

Leader has a big belly, is afraid of nothing! [The comment in the original Chinese rhymes.]

腾讯宜昌市网友 智能手机修砖:

This is precisely the revolting behavior of some of the government officials in China, a special product [of China].

腾讯南京市网友 华琦生:

With his big belly, bright smile, facing such a big disaster that the common people suffer from, and actually being callous to this degree, I can’t help but be reminded of the cold smile on the face of the president of the Philippines when our Hong Kong compatriots were kidnapped there. This director of Work Safety must be a big corrupt official, must be investigated, so comfort the souls of these 36 people.

腾讯网友 千与千寻:

Look at this belly… did the Party get you pregnant…

What do you think?

UPDATE:

From NetEase:

Shaanxi “Smiling Department Head””: Wanted To Help Relax/Calm Down Low Level Comrades

Summary: A few days ago, after a terrible traffic accident happened in Shaanxi where 36 people died, Shaanxi Work Safety Bureau director Yang Dacai was photographed wearing a smile at the scene of the accident, triggering condemnations by netizens. August 29th, Yang Dacai apologized and claimed: “Because the accident was so terrible, our low level comrades [the lower level authorities and government workers on the scene] were all especially tense. I was helping them relax and perhaps was too careless with my facial expression.