tofu dreg

[…] teachers, teaching assistants, and school nurses would have died in the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 had the buildings not been made of tofu dregs.

Tofu dregs, which crumble at the slightest touch, have become the go-to image for referring to building and infrastructure projects that use substandard materials and shoddy design to cut costs during construction.

Between 2008 and 2009, he investigated student casualties due to the collapse of “tofu-dreg” (shoddy) school buildings in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. A list of 5,385 names was collected, for which he was severely beaten.

Corruption is not to be discussed, “tofu-dregs construction” [a metaphor for shoddy work, using flimsy materials] is off limits, unpleasant evidence is suppressed. In the name of “stability maintenance,” they threaten, detain, ...