The Foreign Service Journal, September 2012

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 33 Wenzhou, citizens demanded an official investigation of a July 2011 high-speed train crash that killed some 40 people. And in Dalian, residents organized daily protests outside a chemical plant to spot- light fears that the paraxylene pro- duced there would spill and endanger the surrounding com- munities. An Opening for Food Diplomacy Food safety also continues to be a flashpoint. Public outrage fol- lowing a tainted-milk scandal in 2008 led to sweeping gov- ernment attempts to improve food safety controls. In June, infant formula manufactured by a Chinese company was found to contain high levels of mercury; but in a sign of progress, this time the contamina- tion was discovered and an- nounced by China’s product quality watchdog, the General Ad- ministration of Quality Supervi- sion, Inspection and Quarantine. In the past, Internet searches on terms such as “tainted milk” were shut down, and the father of a child who died from drinking tainted milk was jailed for his food safety activism. But increasingly, the Chinese media are permitted to report on the ongoing battle to control rogue foodmanufacturers. In March, for example, the China Daily newspaper ran a report about contaminated peas. And in May, the state- run news agency Xinhua revealed that it was common prac- tice for vegetable sellers to spray their cabbages with F OCUS By stressing the connection between improvements in human rights and the interests of the Chinese government in fostering social stability, we have sought to build bridges and trust.