Instead of dumping the tainted milk that was pulled off the shelves, many supermarkets near Guangzhou University City sold it in sales promotions, the lowest price is even cheaper than soy drinks.
Many university students have been attracted by the low price. When visiting a student apartment, a journalist found that almost everyone in the room had one carton of the tainted milk, some even have three or four cartons, according to a Guangzhou Daily report.
Misleading Media Report
Mr. Lu Jun, general coordinator of the non-governmental organization Yirenping in Beijing said, “The misleading previous media report shows the media’s influence, since the outbreak of the melamine scare, mainland media has reported that the danger of melamine is no big deal, it will only cause kidney stones, and that only happens to infants, but causes no harm in adults.”
In the Guangzhou Daily report, a student explained why he wanted to buy the tainted milk. He said he heard infants got kidney stones because they have a weak digestion and they consumed melamine for a long period, and this won’t happened to an adult. He thought that all the uncertified milk had been recalled.
Mr. Lu commented that university students in China, as a group, could be easily misled by propaganda. “For example, in recent years, whenever the media report anti-Japanese material, they will oppose Japan. Whenever media report material that is anti-America, they will oppose America. This is because their information sources are very limited, they are still short of independent thinking and open eyes.”
