BEIJING, Sept. 23 -- China's latest effort to clean up its terrible coal-mine safety record by breaking the links between colliery owners and officials has not had the desired effect, industry figures and experts said.

    

Liang Zhangling, wife of a miner killed in a flooding accident on August 7 in Daxing coal mine in Xingning, Guangdong Province, receives 200,000 yuan (US$24,700) in compensation from government officials yesterday. The accident killed 123 miners. [Xinhua]

Yesterday was the deadline by which all government officials who invested in coal mines were required to withdraw their money, according to the State Council order issued last month.

    "The actual number of officials who have interests in mines is unavailable now," said An Yuanjie, an official with the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS). "Discipline inspection departments at the provincial level are collecting data."

    A final report will be released by mid-October, she said, adding: "By then, officials who have refused to withdraw illegal investment from collieries will have been given severe punishment."

    However, industry insiders believe that a large number of officials are still hanging on to their stakes in mines. In Southwest China's Guizhou Province, some officials declared their investments to the government, said officials from the provincial work safety bureau, but no figure was given.

    In a related bribery case, Zhao Dawu, a former director of the coal bureau in Zunyi County of Guizhou, was sentenced to life imprisonment after it was discovered he took millions in bribes to invest in coal mines, reported Xinhua, without saying when the sentence was handed down.

    Meanwhile, no officials in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, one of the major coal-producing areas in China, have declared interests in mines, Beijing-based China Youth Daily reported yesterday.

    "I prefer quitting my official position to withdrawing shares (in coal mines)," the newspaper quoted an unnamed official as saying.

    During the past years, authorities have tried various measures to improve mine safety but experts say they have been largely ineffective.

    And the latest move seems to be no different, considering the implementation difficulties, argued Zhu Deren, vice-chairman of the China Association of Coal Industry.

    "China has no shortage of safety and other regulations; the problem is the lack of enforcement," Zhu told China Daily.

    If the government does not crack down, "who would admit he has invested in coal mines after he made huge profits," he said.

    In Zhu's opinion, work safety is just one problem facing the coal industry. There should be an overall focus on resources and technology, he suggested. Besides, Zhu said, the many departments that have a say in the management of the industry are an obstacle to improvement of safety.

    Collusion between owners and officials as well under-the-table transactions are to blame for the frequent coal-mine accidents, said Li Yizhong, head of SAWS, in an interview on Wednesday.

    The work safety administration has ordered more than 7,000 mines, mostly small-scale, to half production until safety approvals are given; local governments trying to circumvent the order will be disciplined.

(Source: China Daily)