Zhao Tiechui, vice minister of the State Administration of
Work Safety, said yesterday that there would be a further crackdown
this year on illegal investments in coalmines by government
officials this year, in a drive to clean up the industry.
Zhao, also director of the State Administration of Coal
Mine Safety, issued the warning on the sidelines of the ongoing Fourth Plenary
Session of the National People's Congress (NPC),
China's top legislature.
In his government work report to the NPC on Sunday, Premier Wen
Jiabao placed an unprecedented emphasis on improving work
safety.
"We will conduct in-depth investigations into cases of
dereliction of duty and corruption relating to work safety and
severely punish those responsible," Wen said.
Officials with vested interests in the mines have been blamed
for their disregard of safety procedures.
Last year, 5,986 miners were killed in 3,341 accidents,
accounting for almost 80 percent of all coalmine fatalities
globally.
By the end of last year, the government had forced 4,878
officials and heads of state-owned enterprises to withdraw 562
million yuan (US$69 million) worth of investments in coalmines.
Zhao yesterday encouraged the public to report corrupt practices
and ferret out corrupt officials who have thus far escaped
detection.
"We depend on the support of the public to push ahead with the
work," he said.
Zhao also emphasized that his administration will step up
efforts to close down unsafe coalmines.
Further, to reduce the number of accidents, Zhao's
administration issued new safety rules for coalmines last
September, ordering the closure of illegal mines and the suspension
of those that failed to meet safety requirements.
A total of 5,243 illegal and unsafe mines had been closed down
by the end of last year.
"Despite the initial progress, it cannot be ruled out that some
unsafe coal mines are still in operation," Zhao said.
The central government has said that it will allocate 3 billion
yuan (US$371 million) in treasury bonds to control the emission of
gases in coalmines, the primary cause of explosions.
(China Daily March 10, 2006)