Props to the PR-focused blog Imagethief for two excellent posts on how the baby milk scandal has been handled, Sanlu Melamine Milk Powder Crisis Becomes A National Issue and Melamine In Sanlu Milk Powder? Now That’s A Crisis!. Well worth the read.
Key point: “Only an irresponsible PR agency proposes suppressing bad news as the core of a PR strategy. That’s not rebuilding or defending a reputation. That’s admitting you can’t help. But suppressing news is an old tradition here, handed down from the highest levels.”
Situation update: Health Minister Chen Zhu says 6,244 infants are ill after consuming the tainted formula as of 8 a.m. on Wednesday, five times the previously announced number. They include 158 with acute kidney failure, of which 94 were in stable condition. That implies 64 are now in serious condition.
China Bystander 