Under water, in the dark

UPDATE, June 4th: Dozens of bodies were recovered overnight onChina’s Yangzi river, victims of the ferry that capsized Monday evening. Now 65 of its passengers have been counted as dead, with another 370 still missing. Rescuers are working under the hope that some may yet be found alive in the boat’s overturned hull. A group of about 50 relatives of the passengers travelled to the site to demand information from the authorities.

MORE than 400 people are missing and feared dead. Journalists have been kept from the scene. If the death toll is as bad as it might be, this would be the worst boat disaster in the history of the People’s Republic of China. The prime minister, Li Keqiang, has arrived to oversee the rescue effort; the whole country is watching.

The tourist ferry with 458 people aboard overturned on the Yangzi river in stormy weather on the evening of June 1st. Only 14 of its passengers and crew have been rescued so far. Five people have been confirmed dead. Citizens are watching their government’s rescue effort with bated breath—and with a paucity of information, which is all too familiar.

Most of the passengers aboard the boat, the Oriental Star, were between the ages of 50 and 80 years old, according to state media. Official news reports said the boat sent no distress signal before it overturned. The captain and an engineer have been detained, although no reason for this has been announced.

Dozens of boats and 140 navy divers have been deployed at the scene. A 65-year-old woman became the 13th person rescued just before 1pm on Tuesday, with the rescue of five more passengers under way shortly thereafter; a man became the 14th at 3.10pm. Images broadcast on state media showed Mr Li using binoculars to watch the operations from a nearby boat. President Xi Jinping was reported to have sent urgent instructions on the rescue.

Information, however, is being filtered through closely controlled official media outlets. The authorities responsible for propaganda are using up-to-date means of communication: official media are posting updates to Chinese microblogs as well as tweeting in English on Twitter, which is blocked in China. But so far the media have been conspicuous in using only updates from official news services. The national broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), is the only outlet for video.

It is easy to see why the Communist Party is guarded. The stakes for any government are high in any horrible accident. The poor response to the sinking of a ferry in South Korea last year severely damaged the legitimacy of that country’s president, Park Geun-hye. The Sewol sank with nearly 300 victims aboard, most of them students. Even in China, where news is more tightly controlled, public opinion matters—at least, to a degree. Previous disasters—for instance, the crash of a high-speed train in south-eastern China in 2011, or the earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008—became, through social media, instant referendums on the incompetence and corruption of party officials, and of the system itself. In both cases the party moved to shut down criticism, but not before taking some heavy blows. Many of the sharpest complaints spread quickly online.

This time Mr Xi seems to be taking no such chances. With both his anti-corruption campaign and reform agenda, he has made effective governance a rhetorical cornerstone of his leadership. He will be understandably keen for the government to demonstrate competence in the hours ahead. Whether it serves his ultimate aims or not, under Mr Xi’s watch control of the media and the internet have been tightened. However the disaster unfolds, most of the Chinese people will see what the government allows, and little more.