A new warning spray painted on some dumpsters in Qixingguan township, Bijie, Guizhou Province, triggered public anger Wednesday with many netizens saying it is an insensitive way of dealing with the aftermath of a tragedy that left five boys dead last month.
The warning states "entry forbidden to humans and livestock; enter at own risk." It was painted on 12 dumpsters in Heguantun county, a month after the five young runaways were found poisoned to death by carbon monoxide after starting a fire in a dumpster to keep warm.
The district government has laid the blame on Deng Hongmei, the official in charge of township's sanitation.
He Youyi, director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Qixingguan District Committee, said the spray-painted warning was carelessly carried out.
The statement also said that the district has punished Deng and Gao Dan, chief of the township, and ordered the warnings be corrected.
Gao apologized on his Sina Weibo for hurting the public's feeling. "We will rectify them promptly and draw lessons to avoid such things in the future."
By late Thursday, the warning on dumpsters became the second hottest topic on Sina Weibo and a search of the slogan yielded 4.4 million postings.
An official from the township government, who refused to be named, told the Global Times that the warning on the dumpsters had been erased.
"What kind of local government would do such a silly thing! It mocks local residents and deserves public criticism," said Ren Yuan, professor with Fudan University's School of Social Development and Public Policy.
Ren said the public wants to see officials take real action on the reason some people need to seek shelter in a dumpster. "They need to figure out why there are homeless children and how to help them."
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