Twenty dead and five missing on a ship in for maintenance is the predictable result of safety rules that exist on paper and nowhere else. China keeps racking up body counts — a fireworks plant blast, a shoe factory blaze, a shipyard explosion — and the pattern points to enforcement that buckles whenever production targets are on the line. Calling for lessons after each disaster changes nothing.
The response to the Qingdao fire shows a system that moves fast and takes responsibility. Search and rescue teams, medical care for the injured and a national work team were mobilized immediately, with orders to pinpoint the cause and hold those at fault accountable. Demanding a sweep of fire hazards nationwide is exactly how a government protects people's lives rather than shrugging at tragedy.
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