BEIJING: Lawyers advising victims of China's spreading tainted milk scandal said Tuesday that they were under growing pressure from officials in central China to withdraw from the cases. The families of many of the children sickened by milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine have been turning to a loose grouping of more than a hundred lawyers across China for free legal advice, said Chang Boyang, one of the lawyers. The tainted milk, which has been blamed in the deaths of four babies and for sickening more than 54,000 children, has also shaken confidence worldwide in Chinese exports. The government has been struggling to show the public that it is dealing successfully with the scandal, which came on the heels of the widely praised Beijing Olympics. On Monday, the State Council, China's cabinet, acknowledged that the dairy industry was "chaotic" and had suffered from a grave lack of oversight, while pledging to monitor milk products from farm to dinner table. But the government has also imposed controls on media coverage of the crisis, suggesting it does not want it to become a focal point of public dismay. At least 14 lawyers from Henan Province who have been advising people who were affected by the scandal were told by officials from the provincial government's justice department to stop their activities, Chang told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "They called me and my boss at my law firm and put pressure on me," Chang said. "They said that this has become a political issue and that I ought to follow the arrangements set out by the government." "If this suggestion is disobeyed, the lawyer and the firm will be dealt with," Chang cited the official as saying. Henan's justice department could not immediately be reached for comment. Chinese authorities believe suppliers who were trying to cut costs diluted milk, then added melamine to fool quality control tests and make the product appear rich in protein. The chemical can cause kidney stones as the body tries to eliminate it and, in extreme cases, can lead to life-threatening kidney failure. The State Council has ordered hospitals to provide free treatment for sick infants, but the lawyers want the government to compensate the victims. China candy back on shelves China's iconic White Rabbit candy is back in production after being pulled out of stores around the world last month in the wake of the country's tainted milk scandal, The Associated Press reported from Shanghai, citing a state-run newspaper. The popular, vanilla-flavored sweets are sold in more than 50 countries. But production stopped last month when its Shanghai-based maker said the candy may have been contaminated by melamine. Guan Sheng Yuan Co. said White Rabbit candy production has resumed because the company was now using a safe supply of powdered milk, but China Daily noted that the company did not say where the raw milk for the powder came from.