At last today (Sunday) the Morecambe Bay tragedy is getting air time on th Chinese media. The reports here are quite factual and state that the people drowned were illegal emmigrants.

However the TV reports are just showing the staff from the Chinese Consulate on the scene, but there is no general comment from the Foreign Minsistry. A Foreign Ministry comment is quite important as it would set the tone and allowance for the main Chinese media comment.

I spoke to some Chinese friends tonight and they have been watching the more liberal websites and the feeling I got from them was one of anger that people could be exploited in this way.

It is quite interesting here that while they know the websites are being monitored, the people logging on making some quite hard comments (within reason) and that these could be taken on board by the monitors.

Most Chinese websites are self regulating but with the sheer number of people with access it acts as a kind of straw poll. I just hope that means there is a more postive kind of action from the people in Beijing.

Though China has a new president (Hu Jin Tiao) this man is still feeling his way and the power play is between him and the previous president (Jiang Ze Min) who still retains overall power via way of control of the Chinese Military Commitee).

For me the intersting thing will be how Hu Jin Tiao plays this one. On past perfromance he has been more open, but there has been a conservative backlash headed by Jiang Zi Min.

If the comment on websites here is strong enough then I think that there will be stronger action against the Snakeheads.

I noted a previous comment about China becoming a stronger world economy. That is fact, it will do. Look at the labels in your clothes and on the back of your electronic and elctrical devices. Once a made in Japan was a joke. Wellington once said 'Beware of the sleeping dragon'.

Part of the problem of the Morecambe Bay drownings is that as a re-developing country Chinese are very keen to make money but with little regard to the human cost.