"Let Me Skin Sanlu Alive"
(Fu Jianfeng's blog) Let Me Skin Sanlu Alive: The Notes Of A News Editor About The Sanlu Tainted Milk Powder Case. September 14, 2008. [Note: The blogger is an editor at Southern Weekend]
[in translation]
1.
Actually, our reporter He Feng had received the information at the end of July that more than 20 babies were hospitalized for kidney stones in Tongji Hospital, Wuhan city, Hubei province as a result of consuming the tainted Sanlu milk powder. But for reasons that everybody knows, we were not able to investigate the case at that time because harmony was needed everywhere. As a news editor, I was deeply concerned because I sensed that this was going to be a huge public health catastrophe. But I could not send any reporters out to investigate. Therefore, I harbored a deep sense of guilt and defeat at the time. I tried my best to tell all my friends and acquaintances not to use the Sanlu milk powder.
At the time, our reporter He Feng was already checking out the situations at a number of hospitals in Hubei, Hunan and Jiagxi. The doctors were highly suspicious that there was a problem with Sanlu. They reminded every family that came to the hospital with infant problems not to use Sanlu.
At the time, I checked Baidu and all I could find were doubts being raised by some parents about this brand.
We could only wait, wait, wait.
2.
After the Olympics was over, my esteemed colleague He Feng began to investigate. He went to Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong. He contacted dozens of parents. He called many hospitals in many provinces around China. Finally, he basically confirmed that a causal relationship between Sanlu baby powder and kidney stones in babies could be established.
This investigation took more than ten days. It was difficult. Before the investigation, some of the parents in Hunan were paid off by Sanlu to keep quiet. Many newspapers in Hubei had to stay silent because Sanlu used its connections with the authorities. Certain local reporters who took part in the investigation were bitter but helpless about the way Sanlu shut the media down.
During the first part of September, I discovered that it was impossible to find negative information about Sanlu on the Baidu search engine. Later on, the word was that Sanlu spent several million yuan to buy off Baidu. Then I understood why.
In our investigation, we found out that all the samples of milk powder sent by the local and national Quality Inspection Administration passed in the end. On one hand, this was perplexing. On the other hand, it was understandable because Sanlu was one of the products that had been graded "no-inspection-necessary" by the Quality Inspection Administration. They would be slapping themselves in their faces if they found problems.
During the investigative process, I reminded my colleague He Feng repeatedly to be careful. If the evidence should be insufficient, we would lost a lawsuit. I also reminded him that our investigation must be conducted secretly without the Sanlu Company being aware. As a large corporation, Sanlu has powerful backers. If they can shut down the Hubei media, they can also shut down something like Southern Weekend. In order to maintain our objectivity, we can publish the "pass" test results for Sanlu at the same time. This would be fair, and the public can decide whether the product really passes or not.
During the process, there were many parents who kept asking questions because they want an explanation about the victimization of their children. There were also many righteous doctors who provided first-hand evidence to our reporter.
But I was extremely disappointed in our relevant government departments. During our investigation, we discovered that the General Administration for Quality Inspection had come up with "passed" reports in June and July, so that the chances for an alert was missed again and again. I was also extremely disappointed with the Food and Drug Administration, which did not take any action even though the reports from many doctors indicated that there was an explosion of kidney stones in babies. The Disease Control Center of our Ministry of Health did not issue an epidemiological alert and it did not conduct any investigation. Most of all, I was disappointed and angry at the Sanlu Company for covering up the truth repeatedly and blocking the media so that more than 400 babies were victimized.
We want the truth. We want to race against time. We want to remove the doubts about this public health matter. This was the motivation and belief that impelled me and my colleague He Feng.
3.
On September 12, Xinhua carried the anonymous accusation by the Gansu media against Sanlu. I realized that we had to report on this matter. We had to openly challenge Sanlu. This was the only way to warn the public about the food safety danger. We had already collected enough information and we were confident regarding the law.
But that does not mean that we could get it published. On September 13, in spite of repeated attempts by He Feng and I, the report was rejected. That night, Sanlu was finally forced to admit to the problem of the troubled milk powder and they issued a public recall. This was somewhat comforting.
On September 14, we posted the report <The difficult path to find the cause of the kidney stones in babies> onto the Southern Weekend website and Southern Metropolis Daily. This was small compensation because our media alert was repeated prevented from going out.
4.
I did not want to write these things, but I was really angered by Sanlu again. So I had to write.
At this time, Sanlu is claiming again and again that the source of the contamination of the milk is through the criminal milk cow farmers. But if the farmers were to pour feces and urine into the milk, will you still put them into the milk powder? Once you learn about the numerous cases of babies with kidney stones, why were you busy shutting down the media and not issue any warnings? Why did you only admit that there was a problem when things went beyond control and then you put the blame on the milk cow farmers?
Sanlu also said that the victims ought to go to ask the milk cow farmers for compensation. This is immoral behavior. The legal reasoning is very simple: even if the milk cow farmers really did it, the victims should ask compensation from Sanlu, which could then ask the milk cow farmers for compensation.
I also read that the suspects already arrested in Shijiazhuang are unidentified. Reportedly, they were mostly milk cow farmers. What kind of investigative logic is it not to look for the real perpetrators and to look for peripheral details to distract the central government and the people of the nation?
I also want to ask just what the State Quality Supervisory Administration has to say about their negligence and cover-up? I also want to ask the departments under the Ministry of Health how they explain their dereliction of duty?
5.
From another angle, the people in the dairy industry have warned a long ago that there was bound to be trouble. The vicious competition meant that the dairy industry had to do battle at every stage from the milk source to the final product in a vicious cycle, until Sanlu finally destroyed itself.
If state supervision and industry self-discipline do not work, the devastation would go beyond baby milk powder to reach the entire dairy industry.
Every person who made money by producing fake and inferior stuff thinks that he is ahead of the game, but at the same time he is also hurt by others who are doing the same elsewhere. We have lost far too heavily already. We don't want chaotic and unhygienic food. We don't want an evil-doing market economy. We want a good market economy. We want an ethical market economy.
一
其实早在七月底的时候，本报的记者禾风就接到了消息，三鹿的毒奶粉所致的结石婴儿已在湖北武汉同济医院有了二十余名。但因为总所周知的原因，这样的事我们是无法在那时调查的，因为要一片和谐么。作为一个新闻编辑，我万分心焦，我已经意识到这是一个巨大的公共卫事灾难，但我却无法派记者去采访，那时有很深的罪恶感与挫败感，只得尽已所能，对周围我所能知道的有婴幼孩子的朋友与熟人打招呼，叫他们别给孩子用三鹿奶粉。
那时，我们的记者禾风已向湖北湖南江西一些医院了解情况时，医生们已高度怀疑三鹿有问题，他们提醒每一个来就医院就症的孩子家属不要用三鹿。
那时，我查百度，还能查到一些家长对这个品牌的质疑。
我们只能等，等，等
二
奥运结束后，我可敬的同事禾风终于开始调查了，他先后跑了湖北、湖南、广东数地，接触了数十名家长，给全国的多个省份多家医院打电话，最后终于基本确证，三鹿奶粉与婴儿结石之间的因果关系是可以成立的。
这个调查过程花了十几天，很艰难，调查之前，湖南的部分家长被三鹿公司用钱封口啊，湖北的多家报纸也被三鹿通过权力关系封口了，一些参与调查的当地记者对三鹿这种封杀舆论的行径极愤怒又无可奈何。
也是在九月初三段时间，我发现百度一度查不到三鹿奶粉的负面信息了。后来传出三鹿用几百万元广告费收买的传言，于是我也就明白所以然了。
我们在调查中发现，所有送检给地方与国家质监总局的问题奶粉，最后检测结果都是合格的。这一方面让人困惑，另一方面也能让人理解，因为三鹿是国家质监总局封的“免检产品”么，否则不是自已打自已的巴掌吗？
在这个调查过程中，我一再提醒我的同事禾风，一定要谨慎，如果略有证据不足，就可能给我们引来败诉之祸。我还提醒，我们的调查必须秘密进行，不能让三鹿公司知道。三鹿作为一家大型企业，有极强大的势力，既然有能力封杀湖北媒体，那同样也有能力封杀像南方周末这样的媒体。但为了保持客观，我们可以把三鹿公司 “合格”的检测结果同时登出，这样很公正，真正合不合格，自有公议。
在这个过程中，有多个追问不休的家长，他们要为孩子的受害讨一个说法，有多个正义感的医生，为我们的记者提供一手的证据。
令我极度失望的是我们的有关政府机构。我们的调查中发现，质检总局在六七月份的时候，已检测了多份“合格”报告，一次又一次错失了预警的机会。仅我极度失望的是，已经有多名医生向上汇报了结石婴儿的爆发之势，我们的药监局没有作相关调查，我们的卫生部疾控中心没有作流行病学预警与调查。当然最令我失望与愤怒的是三鹿公司，一次次地掩盖真相，封锁传媒，总致四百多婴儿受害。
我们要真相，我们要和时间赛跑，我们要设法把这个公共卫生事件的疑云抛出去。这样的冲动与信念激励着我和我的同事禾风。
三
9月12日，新华网转了甘肃媒体对三鹿的匿名指控。我意识到我们非报不可了，我们要公开质疑三鹿。只有这样，才能对公众真正警示这场食品危机。我们已掌握了充分的证据，我们有这个法律上的自信。
但这不意味着你一定能报出来。9月13日，尽管我与禾风一再冲刺，此稿还是被撤了下来。当夜，三鹿公司终于被迫承认了问题奶粉，并公开召回。这略让人感安慰。
9月14日，我们还是把《结石婴儿的艰难追凶路》此稿放到了南方周末网与南方都市报上。当我们的媒体预警一再未能达成后，这算是一点点弥补吧。
四
这些事，原本并不想写出来的，但现在我再次被三鹿激怒了，觉得非写不可。
现在，三鹿一再声称，奶粉的污染是因为不法奶农。那么请问，如果奶农往牛奶里倒屎啊尿啊的，你们是不是照单全收地做到奶粉里？那么请问，在发现了那么多起结石婴儿后，你们为何一再封杀媒体，为何不作事先预警，非到不可收拾时才出来承认有问题奶粉，现在却把责任推到奶农身上？
三鹿还声称，受害者应去找奶农索赔。这简直是流氓的说辞，法理上很简单，如果真是奶农干的，也是受害者先向三鹿索赔，三鹿再向奶农索赔。
我还看到，现在被石家庄警方抓捕的涉案人，一直没有公布身份，据传，这些人以农奶为主。这是什么调查逻辑，不去调查真正的施害者，却在旁枝末叶上下功夫，想欺骗中央政府和全国人民吗？
我还想问，还想看，这次严重失责的国家质监总局，你们对你们的隐瞒与失职，何以自处？还想问，卫生部的下属机构，你们对你们的失职何以自处？
五
如果再转一个视角看，奶业人士早就提出警告，中国奶业迟早会出问题，恶性的低价的竞争，让奶业从奶源到最终产品，都在过度竞争中恶性循环不能自拔，直至出了三鹿这样的事而自我毁灭。
国家监管与行业自律如再不出手，为祸的绝不会只是婴儿奶粉，而是全部奶业。
每个自以为通过制假造劣而获利的人，都以为占了便宜，结果他也在占了便宜的同时，被其它造假者们伤害。我们已经输得太惨伤得太重了，我们不要混乱的不洁的食品。我们不要恶的市场经济，我们要有良治的市场经济，我们要有道德的市场经济。