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The interim regulation on disciplinary punishment of officials responsible for industrial accidents is expected to strengthen safety, but there are more knots to be untied before worksite casualties can be substantially reduced.

The new rule, released by two central ministries, specifically defines punishments for negligent and law-breaking officials, which will assist the implementation of the Production Safety Law and relevant State Council regulations.

But the devil will be in the detail. Although the Production Safety Law and other regulations have clauses to this effect, they seem too rough to work effectively.

The new rule is expected to fill the gap and help cut links between corrupt officials and local mine owners.

The release of the rule is timely, as coal mine accidents are mounting.

In the first half of this year, the death toll dropped over the same period last year, with casualties down by 13 percent. However, it is again rising with the latest string of accidents in the coal-mining industry, which recently increased production to cater for a surge in demand for winter heating fuel.

As an appalling footnote to that trend, four serious accidents have occurred within eight days since November 5, killing more than 100 workers.

The nation continues to probe the causes of workplace accidents and has, quite rightly, pointed to several major factors behind the scourge inadequate safety input, lack of safety awareness, lax management, loose regulation and corruption.

The state is pouring billions of yuan into technical upgrading and safety promotion in mines. But money cannot buy safety unless all concerned are made to truly care about it.

Investigations have netted several local regulators this year colluding with mine owners to circumvent production safety rules. They confirm public doubt that, in some cases at least, it is not that regulators are unable to sense problems, but they simply turn a blind eye to them.

With the new rule released, central regulators are equipped with a powerful weapon to rein in corruption in the local mining industry.

But we would be over-confident if we put all our hope in such a rule. Market demand for coal and other resources is expected to grow further in the coming years. As demand grows, coal producers may try to circumvent regulations to make more profit. It will put the new law to the test.

Without raising our resource efficiency to cut demand, the situation will hardly improve.

Moreover, our administrative procedures also need to be made more transparent to invite public supervision.

(China Daily November 23, 2006)