On the evening of July 23, a deadly crash involving two high-speed trains in east China killed dozens, including children and expectant mothers. The tragedy was a shock to the whole country. Chen Bin, a commentator at Southern Weekend, believes China has paid a heavy price for its "leap-forward development" of a high-speed railway, and this mode of development should be abandoned to avoid huge risks in the future. His thoughts are as follows:

The Ministry of Railways called an end to its eight-hour rescue mission after announcing "no more vital signs [could be detected] in the wreckage." We don't know how long the rescue should have lasted, but the decision seems quite hasty, since a toddler was found alive about 21 hours after the crash. Saving lives must hold a higher priority than restoring railway operations. The accident should not be dealt with in "leap-forward" mode.

At the core of the leap-forward development is collaboration with top international enterprises such as Bombardier, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Alstom and Siemens. Considered the most efficient way to catch up with advanced nations, leap-forward development has been valued by many people. But its dangers are overlooked. To build its high-speed railways, China imported advanced technologies from several countries, leading to possible hidden peril in integrating different systems.

The systems used by the two trains involved in the crash are from Bombardier and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. From Beijing to Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, the train traveled on a high-speed track first with a CTCS-3 signal system, and then switched to CTCS-2 once it started on the lower-speed track at eastern Hangzhou Station. Different tracks, signal systems and train systems trying to mingle greatly increase the probability of accidents.

Moreover, the railway is subjected to a social and public administration system mired in a backward management, human resources and organizational structure. This system is not able to thoroughly address in full scope high technology, which, at worst, poses a threat to public safety.

The railway system is not the only victim of leap-forward development. In China's modern cities, heavy rainfall has paralyzed seemingly advanced public facilities, bringing backward sewerage system and city management issues to light.

In the last 100 years, China has experienced two leap-forward developments – one in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the other in the 1950s. Both attempted to apply agricultural management systems to industry. Both of these attempts failed. The first led to the decline of the most formidable navy force in Asia, and the second resulted in a waste of economic resources followed by grievous famine. The problem with leap-forward development is that the current public administration cannot support and exercise control over high technology.  

It's time to wake up from the dream of leap-forward development. Without efficient control on government department monopolies, decisions motivated by desire for superficial achievements will bring huge risks. Government departments, such as the Ministry of Railways, that are managed like business enterprises - along with backward public administration - should be the problems being addressed in China today.