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  • Exploding manhole covers

  • Show how China's construction  just doesn't hold up.

  • Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell.

  • Chinese New Year is around the cornerDo you know where your firecrackers are?  

  • Remember to keep them away from children.

  • Wait, I thought manhole covers were supposed to  weigh like 250 pounds each. A single firecracker  

  • blew five manhole covers into the air? I don't  think those manhole covers were up to code.

  • And that's not the only manhole cover  related explosion coming out of China.  

  • A few months earlier, indifferent city, this happened.

  • According to Newsweek, “The explosion is  believed to have been caused when the boy's  

  • live firecracker ignited  flammable gases underground.”

  • Wait, why were there FLAMMABLE GASES UNDERGROUND?!

  • And isn't the whole point of having heavy iron  manhole covers to prevent them from being moved?

  • Fortunately, the kid was ok

  • But if you think these are isolated incidentsyou've never been to the real China.

  • These are what are known as tofu-dreg  projects. Tofu-dreg is a slang term in  

  • China used to describe poor quality construction

  • Yes, shoddy construction is so common in  China, there's a special phrase for it.

  • The phrase was coined in 1998 by former Premier  Zhu Rongji when he visited the Yangtze River  

  • and described the flood  dykes there as being flimsy  

  • like the crumbly bits left  over after you make tofu.

  • Under the Chinese Communist Party, the  culture of corruption seeps into everything.

  • When it comes to construction, corruption  can happen at any stagedesign,  

  • planning, procuring materials, and buildingPeople cut costs to skim money at each level,  

  • they ignore safety rules, and  they even bribe inspectors.

  • And then you get things like  this: You can peel off the  

  • concreteof this bridge with your  bare hands. Don't light a firecracker.

  • Now I'm not saying *all* Chinese construction  

  • is like this. But in mainland  China, it's shockingly common.

  • Last year, a poorly built hotel that had  been converted into a quarantine center  

  • collapsed, killing more than two dozen people.

  • People were outraged. So why  doesn't the government just step  

  • in and fix the problem? Because they're in on it!

  • Local governments... have massive incentives  to promote rapid and unfettered growth,  

  • and often turn a blind eye to construction  standards. For one, local governments rely on  

  • the revenues arising from construction, including  land sales and transfer fees... For another,  

  • local officials are promoted based on  the growth rates of their jurisdictions.”

  • Construction companies under China's corrupt  communist system cut corners at nearly every  

  • step of the process. And local officials don't  seem to care. In fact, they often get a cut of  

  • the extra profits. As long as the buildings get  built and look ok, they're doing a bang-up job.

  • Just don't bang on the walls.

  • Or get them wet.

  • And you'll get a kick out of this. One guy did.  

  • Within the next minute, 215 guardrail posts  fell into the water across nearly half a mile.

  • It's like playing dominoes, except you could die

  • I also recommend you don't live  in an area that has typhoons,  

  • so...half of China's east coast. I really hope  this blows the lid off of Chinese corruption.

  • Otherwise the issue could  just fall through the cracks.

  • And this kind of thing happens everywhereeven in residential apartments.

  • Have fun trying to tell your boss you can't come  into work today because THE STAIRS FELL OFF!

  • Basically it's exactly what happened in  The Money Pit, only instead of one house,  

  • it's the entire country

  • With all the Chinese Communist Party's  propaganda about their fancy skyscrapers...

  • and high speed trains...

  • ...there are a lot of problems under the surface.

  • Just last summer, the Shanghai Tower (Corner  Box), China's tallest building, had a huge water  

  • leak that reached from the 60th floor down to the  9th floor, ruining furniture and office supplies.

  • I'll take a rain check on that one.

  • Now tofu-dreg projects are kind ofsensitive topic for Chinese leader Xi Jinping,  

  • who claims to be implementing  nationwide anti-corruption measures.  

  • The truth is, he's not actually stopping  corruption. And he definitely doesn't want  

  • to hear your feedback either. Like if you tell him  the Three Gorges Dam is cracking under pressure.

  • Beijing recently admitted the wall  has 'leaked, moved and distorted.'”

  • But only because it was already obvious.

  • We can only hope that there will  finally be an end to the tofu-dreg  

  • projects soonor at some point the dam is really  going to burst for the Chinese Communist Party.

  • And the whole thing could blow up in their face.

  • And now it's time for me to answer a question from  a viewer who supports China Uncensored on Patreon.

  • Jason says: “Hey Chris, video idea: Short  video on how the CCP effects everyone's life

  • Whenever I try to educate people about the  CCPsome people just don't care because  

  • they think China is so far away how could  it ever have an impact on their life.”

  • Well, Jason, this whole video was  about how the culture of corruption  

  • affects the lives of regular people in mainland  China. People there actually have to live and  

  • work in these poorly made buildings, and  there's very little they can do about it.

  • This kind of tofu-dreg construction also happens  in countries that are part of China's Belt and  

  • Road initiativeor really anywhere that  uses Chinese construction and materials.

  • If you want good quality Chinese  construction...go to Taiwan.

  • Thanks, Jason.

  • And thank you for watching. Be like  Jason and support China Uncensored  

  • by going to Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored and  contributing a dollar or more per episode.

  • I might even read your question on the show.

  • Once again, I'm Chris ChappellThanks for watching China Uncensored.

Exploding manhole covers

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