City and provincial officials faced calls for accountability, and the wife of one of the subway victims told local media that she would sue the subway operator for negligence.
However, despite the calls for transparency, foreign journalists have also faced increasing hostility as they become more sensitive to any negative portrayal of China.
The Chinese Foreign Correspondents Club stated in a statement that reporters in Zhengzhou were surrounded and captured by angry locals, while the Chinese news assistant received “threatening messages.”
“Remarks from China’s ruling Communist Party affiliated organizations directly endanger the personal safety of foreign journalists in China and hinder free reporting,” it warned.
When reporting on a flooded traffic tunnel, an Agence France-Presse reporter was forced to delete the footage by hostile residents of Zhengzhou and was surrounded by dozens of men.
