Coming clean in China

CHINESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS are quick to admit that the country’s stunning economic progress is taking an ever-larger toll on the environment, with Beijing’s skies looking like those over Los Angeles half a century ago during the worst of its bad air days, and too many lakes too foul. Last week’s spill of benzene into the Songhua River outside the provincial capital of Harbin demonstrated not only the worsening of such problems but the need to let local governments know that the days of coverups are over.

An explosion at a government-owned factory on Nov. 13 released millions of gallons of poisonous liquid into the river, the major water source for most of the 9 million residents of the Harbin area. But the government only alerted the public when dead fish began floating on the surface. Officials shut off the water in the city with little explanation, causing panic.

If China had waited any longer to own up to the magnitude of the problem, it might have resulted in a serious international incident: The contaminated river flows into another river that flows into Russia. On Thursday, China tried to ease Moscow’s concerns by promising to send tons of activated charcoal to filter drinking water and monitoring devices to keep tabs on the pollution.

In Harbin, the taps were turned back on Sunday, although officials warned the water was not yet safe to drink. Provincial Gov. Zhang Zuoji appeared on TV drinking the first glass of water, but that photo-op is not likely to help residents forget the stonewalling. Nor should it. China still resists meaningful political liberalization, but in cities and villages people are far more aware of what is happening in the country than in the past. Even the normally timid state-controlled media criticized the silence about the explosion. Benzene is considered a cause of cancer; high levels in the water can cause illness or death.

The government’s slow response to the disaster does not instill confidence that it will quickly broadcast bad news if bird flu becomes a widespread problem. Officials promised transparency after being caught playing down the SARS outbreak in 2003. The government must live up to its promises of quick disclosure of facts, no matter how bad, and treat pollution as the enormous problem it is. Local and central governments should also understand that modern-day communication means news travels fast, and it will do no good to stonewall when a disaster strikes.