This should surprise only those who forget that China is, at bottom, a totalitarian regime with close control of the press.

Reuters:

Government directives demanding journalists not question official accounts of a deadly high-speed train crash in eastern China are fueling public anger and suspicion about conflicting details of the accident, such as the death toll.

Saturday night's crash killed at least 38 people and was China's deadliest rail disaster since 2008, raising new questions about the safety of the fast-growing and high-profile high-speed rail network.

The central propaganda department issued directives to media on Sunday for coverage of the accident.

"The major theme for the Wenzhou bullet train case from now on will be known as 'in the face of great tragedy, there's great love'," the department said, according to a copy of the directives posted on a web site called the "ministry of truth", that regularly posts copies of government orders.

"Do not question, do not elaborate."

Now those are communists that we know and love. "Do not question, do not elaborate" pretty much sums up how totalitarian societies deal with tragedies like this.

Questions, still?

The department also told media not to "investigate the cause of the accident", and reminded journalists that "the word from the authorities is all-prevailing".

Yes, we shouldn't try to start a new "cold war" with China - even though they consider themselves at war with us. It wouldn't do to have the financier of our deficit spending mad at us for any reason. Better we just roll over and go back to sleep, pretending the Chinese are almost, sort of like us.