Three weeks after the deadly stampede that, according to the official numbers, killed 36 and injured 49 on New Year’s Eve in Shanghai, city officials finally announced the results of their investigation at a national press conference on Jan. 21. Punishments were announced for 11 officials from the Huangpu District where the disaster took place, but the public remained critical of the Shanghai city officials.
The results of the investigation defined the stampede as a public safety incident that had led to severe casualties and consequences. It concluded that the major reasons for the stampede were that the “Huangpu government and leaders severely lacked awareness of how to prevent risks to public safety; the district government lacked the ability to evaluate the risk of public gatherings; inadequate security and lack of early warning; and the public security’s misconduct in their countermeasures to the stampede.”
Shanghai city officials stated at the press conference that the Huangpu District government, the Huangpu Branch Public Security Bureau, and the Shanghai City Public Security Bureau were responsible for the deadly stampede. Yet many Chinese people are holding the Shanghai mayor and Communist Party secretary, who were left out of the report, responsible for the incident.
