Daily Lessons from Life 10 May 2010 - China TV exec jailed for seven years for firework blaze

"China TV exec jailed for seven years for firework blaze - Mon, May 10, 2010 AFP

BEIJING, CHINA - A former top television executive was jailed for seven years Monday for his role in causing a massive blaze at China's new state television complex when a fireworks display went awry, prosecutors said.

Xu Wei, the former director of the new China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters, was sentenced by a Beijing court over the February 2009 inferno, which left one firefighter dead, prosecutors said in a statement.

The fire, which took place during the Lunar New Year celebrations, also injured six people. The building, which housed television studios and a nearly finished Mandarin Oriental hotel, was gutted.

'In his final court presentation, Xu Wei clearly acknowledged his guilt, the huge losses he caused to the state and the unhealthy image he brought to CCTV,' the prosecution report said."

Well, at least there is a conclusion sign being put to this unfortunate calamity! An accident that caused a fire fighter's life and billion of damages, instead of the millions reported by the press, as rumour had it that the gutted new Mandarin Hotel building actually had to be pulled down and rebuilt due to structural damages caused by the fire.

I learned quite a bit about this saga through some Chinese friends that they do differed somewhat from the official version, for obviously reason!

Lessons for me are:

1. a joyous occasion can turned deadly IF you ignored the safety rules. Of course, it would not happened to you as that will be the last thing on your mind when you exercise power to overrule any conscientious front line (or some would called it: low level) people who took their job seriously by trying to advise you that safety rules should not be flouted!;

2. Mr. Xu did showed remorse and had acknowledged his part in this fatal fire. He was right that the damages done to the image of CCTV, the main propaganda mechanism of the Chinese Communist Party, is very severe. The biggest news that year was actually the fire at the new, not-yet-open, CCTV Building next to the CCTV Tower! It was cruelly ironical!;

3. 7-year for that mistake. For some maybe it was too light a sentence considered the damages done - tangible and intangible. Whatever it is, the man has paid the price for exercising, or some would said, abusing, his authority to get the Chinese New Year celebratory firework display, allegedly using the super-power firework materials left over from the 2008 BJ Olympics Game, to entertain many of the CCTV folks who gathered to witness this spectacle. Of course, most of them disappeared or claimed never were present when it burned out of control!! Some said Mr. Xu was a negotiated scapegoat. Probable as there is no point to pursue further since it is already done and it was really an accident!

May more people in authority treasured their authority and may they think doubly hard whenever they have to approve for something that may violate safety rules. The risk is never worth it when it was just to solicit a few smiles. It may be worth it if it is to save lives!!