The Chinese government has executed Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of its food safety watchdog for taking up to $800,000 in bribes to apporve sub-standard drugs. 

Read it here, and here.

China has suffered from many safety issues in their products as of late ranging from pet food contamination to poisonus toothpaste.  The harsh sentence is a way for China to show that it takes safety seriously.  But, one has to wonder how the death of one man shows anything.  I'm not arguing that he is being scape goated.  He probably did take the bribes, but I doubt even in communist China that one man can do all that by himself.  There must have been a lot of people who knew what was going on and were complicit.  This execution in itself doesn't show that China is cracking down on the safety of its' products. 

I have not read anywhere yet if any others have been charged with anything.  For instance, what is going to happen to those who bribed Xiaoyu?  How about his subordinates in the food safety office who should have known he was approving sub-standard drugs?  It has to be asked, is China really cracking down or is this just a dog and pony show to help boost China's tarnished image.