M is for...

M is for milk, but unfortunately, these days M is also for melamine. One can’t argue with tests that found the contamination, or the poor infants – including a lion cub and two baby orangutans – who now have kidney stones, so officials cannot blame conspiracy or China-bashing or political intrigues for the bad press that this scandal has raised against an emerging superpower that just hosted the most spectacular Olympics in modern history and just had its first space walk. Instead, during the recent national day celebration, officials could only cajole – I hesitate to say plead–– with media to “please write something nice” and not to keep putting the milk scandal in glaring, blaring headlines. 

One official explained that the poor farmers of China are getting hit really hard by the scandal, the farmers who supply the milk to factories which process it into milk powder and during which process the melamine is supposedly added. Because all the factories have stopped processing milk products, they have stopped buying milk from the farmers; as a result, he said, many farmers have resorted to slaughtering their cows and presumably selling the meat.

Of the three major milk companies linked to the scandal, the same official said, the one most involved in the scandal – and where an underground melamine factory was reportedly discovered next to its main factory – would most probably close shop, while the other two – whose involvement is “very small” – will likely survive this scandal.

Reports coming out of China say that angry – and desperate – parents who now don’t know what milk to give their children have directed their anger at local officials and milk companies, but have generally spared the central government and are, in fact, deeply appreciative of efforts by top officials from Beijing to sympathize and empathize with their plight. Regardless of whether this is “managed information” or the actual situation, what the central government does to contain and resolve this far-reaching scandal will determine China’s place on the international stage.

Whether it’s milk or White Rabbit (I think I finally understand why my mother never allowed us to eat this candy), broadband or railways, China has become an inextricable part of our lives. We were fortunate to have had the opportunity last week to participate in a forum (sponsored by the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies) that featured a special lecture by Pinoy in Beijing Jaime FlorCruz, who has lived in and covered China as a journalist for three decades, first with Newsweek, then Time magazine, and now CNN. He is the dean of the foreign press corps in Beijing and the current Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He co-authored “Massacre at Beijing,” a book about the 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square. From his unique vantage point he gave us an insightful look at China, which are sharing with you in this issue.