Recent scandal involving mixed-loading of oil tankers on the mainland has sparked public outcry. Reporter Han Futao from the reporting source “New Beijing News” was reported missing, with his Weibo account deactivated. Reacting to this, journalist Yabuta Akio from Japan, who grew up in China, pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party has once again “disposed of” those who raised issues.
Yabuta Akio took to Facebook to express that in recent days, food safety has once again become a focal point of concern in Chinese society, triggered by a report published by “New Beijing News.” The investigation, which began in May 2024, revealed that some oil tankers in China did not undergo cleaning after transporting diesel before being loaded with edible oil, potentially contaminating the edible oil with diesel and sparking a food safety crisis. This report has raised concerns among many consumers as the long-term consumption of edible oil contaminated with diesel could lead to poisoning and harm to the kidneys and liver.
On July 2, “New Beijing News” published an investigative report by journalist Han Futao and others, revealing that some oil tankers in China were utilizing the same tanker to transport both edible oils like syrup and soybean oil, as well as chemical oils like diesel. After unloading coal oil, the tanker did not undergo cleaning before being loaded with edible soybean oil and leaving the factory premises. The report implicated a significant number of state-owned enterprises and private companies, including edible oil companies Yihai Kerry, Huifeng Grain and Oil, Shandong Luhua, and China Grain Reserves.
Yabuta Akio mentioned that state-owned enterprise China Grain Reserves, one of the companies named in the report, responded afterward stating that they “attach great importance, take swift action, draw lessons from it, and conduct a comprehensive special inspection across the system.” However, the results emphasized that there were no issues, claiming that the “product indicators fully comply with national standards, and the company has fully fulfilled its regulatory responsibilities.” They also announced the suspension of cooperation with the contracted transport units. As China Grain Reserves did not provide detailed explanations regarding the investigation results and shifted the blame to the transportation operators, this sparked significant dissatisfaction among consumers.
Mainland netizens criticized, “Where is the regulatory department when unloading coal oil directly and loading edible soybean oil?”; “It’s terrifying, in this society, they don’t care about anything for money.”; “Those who eat special supplies don’t care.”; “China’s food safety belongs only to the privileged and the wealthy.”
Yabuta Akio mentioned that not long after the publication of this report, chief reporter Han Futao from “New Beijing News” was reported missing, and his personal Weibo account was deactivated. Additionally, the freight platform “Fahelp” previously used by the reporter to inquire about the driving records of oil tankers has taken down the query function. As expected, this incident has been “comprehensively resolved” by the Chinese Communist Party officialdom again. Instead of solving the problem, they “resolved the individuals who raised the issue.”
This approach has severely undermined the credibility of the Chinese government. As a journalist, Yabuta Akio pays tribute to reporter Han Futao, who bravely uncovered the truth while facing tremendous pressure. It is thanks to journalists like him that society can progress. He hopes that the Chinese authorities will treat him well and that he can return to a normal life soon.
The “Mixed-loading of oil tankers with edible oil” incident in China has ignited a wave of public criticism. Mainland netizens have revealed that this is not the first time similar cases have been exposed by the media. As early as 2015, on Hunan Urban and Jingshi TV’s news program “Truth Investigation,” reporters received tips that in places like Hengyang and Yongzhou in Hunan, many tankers, after transporting highly corrosive chemicals, directly loaded other goods to save costs and avoid returning empty.
Yabuta Akio pointed out ironically that in stores and supermarkets across China, people are seen queuing to buy self-produced and self-sold edible oil. On e-commerce platforms, there has been a sudden surge in sales of home oil presses as people try to “refine oil” themselves for safety. Additionally, Japanese edible oil products that have been boycotted by Chinese nationalists have become very popular. It is said that when Chinese people travel to Japan recently, edible oil has become one of the most popular souvenirs upon returning to China. Chinese people are no longer afraid of “nuclear radiation” in Japanese food products.