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Workers in small coal mines might be the most vulnerable group in China, but this is not just a result of harsh working conditions or delayed payment of wages. Their lives are also threatened by inadequate safety protection or illegal mining activities encouraged by profit-hungry mine owners.
Sunday's coal mine accident in Xiaoyi, North China's Shanxi Province, once again raises the question of safety in coal mines.
By Wednesday morning, 62 miners had been confirmed dead from a fatal gas explosion, while 10 remain missing.
The strength of the explosion and the high gas density underground added to rescuers' problems and dimmed hopes of finding more missing miners alive.
The Shanxi coal mine tragedy, like every fatal accident, arouses deep public grief over the loss of innocent lives.
To secure justice for those who have lost their lives, it is also natural for decent people to demand that the real story of the catastrophe be made public and the wrongdoers be punished according to the law.
As the investigation digs deeper into the disaster, it is now clear that negligent mine owner Meng Zhaokang is apparently responsible.
Had it not been for his disregard of government decree, the private coal mine would have stopped operations following an order by the local authorities in the wake of two major accidents that rocked the prefecture since February.
Wang Xianzheng, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, has confirmed that corruption could be a factor in this case, and this explains the arrogance behind Meng's decision to openly disregard the decree from higher authorities. Delayed payment of wages and safety problems were also revealed.
A review of fatal accidents in small coal mines in recent years indicates more often than not that they go hand in hand with corruption.
While improving the implementation of relevant regulations on small coal mine management and safety and dishing out harsher punishment to offenders, it seems equally important to step up the anti-corruption campaign in the sector.
(China Daily March 28, 2003)
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