China has pledged to hold people more accountable for their actions following a string of scandals involving everything from food safety to fakes.
The Chinese State Council said business fraud, the sale of fake products and “improper academic behavior” persisted, despite government efforts to eliminate them, and were posing major problems for Chinese society.
“The people are very displeased,” said a statement released late on Wednesday after a council meeting presided over by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶).
The State Council called on government at all levels to build what it called a “social accountability system” to ensure that people were protected and the dishonest were punished.
This would include keeping records of poor performance in areas such as product quality, food and drug safety and academic research, it said.
Many Chinese are angry about what they see as the government’s failure to tackle those behind persistent problems, including the food safety scandals that have become a regular feature of life.
China has suffered a series of such scandals in recent years, from toxic milk to dyed buns.
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