Dora the Lead-painted Explorer

A HUNDRED years ago, a zealous free press exposed the corruption, hazardous workplaces, and dangerous products resulting from rapid industrialization in the United States. Today the same kind of scrutiny ought to be given to China, where corruption and greed are resulting in the production of dangerous toys and shoddy infrastructure.

But how can reporters do their work when they are subjected to beating? This happened this week in southern China, when local police prevented them from covering repair work on a collapsed bridge. Contrast that to the comprehensive reporting on the bridge collapse in Minnesota. The US press has its shortcomings -- Lindsay Lohan comes to mind -- but it remains free to report on the troubles of industry and government.

In the United States, Mattel Inc. acted quickly to recall millions of SpongeBobs, Dora the Explorer dolls, and other popular toys after it found out they had been manufactured in China with lead paint. Given the massive news coverage in the United States, the company had no choice. Very few parents would have bought these toys if they had remained on the shelves.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said this week that it would take tough measures to ensure toy quality, but then a spokesman suggested this would involve greater self-regulation by the toy manufacturers. A few days earlier, a reporter for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong had visited a factory and found that production was still going full blast. "We have not heard about the recall issue," one worker said. "I don't know if the toys have excessive lead or not, but sometimes my eyes and skin are uncomfortable when I work in the plant." This scandal requires intense news coverage in China to change longstanding habits, but the government will not allow Chinese reporters to do their work.

If reporters probed deeply enough, they would uncover a pattern of collusion between local government officials, manufacturers, and contractors to maximize profits without regard to safety. The Commerce Ministry, in its statement, blamed foreign companies like Mattel for insisting that manufacturers reduce costs. The Chinese would be better able to resist this pressure if they did not foster a culture of cutting corners to get rich.

It wasn't that much different in the United States 100 years ago, when journalists feasted on the malfeasance of corporate trusts and the shoddy products they produced. Sometimes they may have unduly emphasized the negative. President Theodore Roosevelt denounced one writer, "who could look no way but downward with the muckrake in his hand . . . [and] continued to rake himself the filth of the floor." China desperately needs an army of these "muckrakers" to cleanse a dirty business culture.