China Advances High-Speed Rail Amid Safety, Corruption Concerns

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/10/121005-china-high-speed-rail-trains-transportation-world/

I thought this was a really interesting example of how much a country is willing to risk to upgrade their technology. I found it really upsetting that despite the crashes and accidents, killing and injuring many people, the government did not stop the production of these trains. The survivors were offered money to pay for medical care, but it was not enough for most people. I don't believe it is right for the government to allow these trains to run given the accidents that have occurred. I believe it shows the Chinese government in a bad light, it appears that they care more about developing their train systems than about the people who could be hurt.
I wonder if this would have been handled differently had it happened in the United States. I would like to think it would, that our government would not have allowed trains to run that could have been a safety hazard to the people, but I'm not sure. Do governments care more about their country's development or about the people in their country?