County blames national policy for deadly orphan fire

An official in a Henan county, where a fire in an unregistered orphanage killed seven, blamed national policy for its decision to spend 20 million yuan ($3.2 million) on a financial service facility even though it has no shelter for orphans.

"Aside from the money, we couldn't get the approval for building an orphanage or acquiring the land because there is no national plan for building such a facility," Wu Changsheng, deputy head of Lankao county, said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday.

By coincidence, an orphanage in Lankao county was reportedly approved last month, weeks before the January 4 fire, and will be completed in June this year.

Media reported last year that the local finance bureau spent 20 million yuan building a so-called financial service center, designed to provide financial and tax counseling for local residents. The office actually serves as the office building for several local departments.

Yu Shaoxiang, a law professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, rejected Wu's explanation.

"This is an excuse used by the local government to cover for their lax performance in protecting children as required in the Constitution," he told the Global Times on Monday. "China should make laws in child welfare and protection specifying the responsibilities of governments at all levels, as they play the most important role in child protection."

CCTV reported that among 2,853 counties across the country, only 64 had official welfare facilities, accounting for 2 percent of the total.