by Xinhua writers Ni Siyi, Wang Cong

    BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- A deadly landslide triggered by the collapse of an illegal mining dump has cost the jobs of a string of Party and government officials in Shanxi Province, with the latest casualty being Governor Meng Xuenong and Vice Governor Zhang Jianmin.

    The deadly incident is the latest man-made disaster in the province, which is reaping the benefit of abundant energy and metal resources. Unfortunately it also reaps the negative side of development: an annual harvest of work safety accidents caused by lax provincial government supervision and the mine owners' blind pursuit of profits.

An excavator is seen at the spot of the mud-rock flow in Xiangfen County, Linfen City, north China's Shanxi Province, Sept. 12, 2008.  (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Photo Gallery>>>

    A resident in Xiangfen, where the landslide has killed at least 254 people, told Xinhua: "The local government has been busy changing officials after each accident, but nothing will change."

    Hopefully, this time could be different, since the new acting governor Wang Jun, 56, serves as director of the State Administration of Work Safety.

    "With expertise in work safety, the appointment of Wang is expected to bring about real changes to the province which has been plagued by work place disasters every year," said Wu Jiang, professor of government administration and president of the Chinese Academy of Personnel Science.

Rescuers carry the body of a victim onto the ambulance at the spot of the mud-rock flow in Xiangfen County, Linfen City, north China's Shanxi Province, Sept. 12, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Governor Wang has been in the coal mine industry since he was young, and became head of the Datong Coal Mine Bureau of Shanxi Province in 1995.

    The unprecedented and swift removals of a governor and vice governor on Sunday show the tough-handed approach of the Chinese government toward the issue of constant work safety problems, Wu said.

    In fact, this was not the first time that Mr. Meng Xuenong has fell from grace. He was made mayor of Beijing in January 2003 but was sacked from the post for failing to respond properly to SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) crisis in April the same year.

    Wang Yukai, a professor with National School of Administration, told Xinhua in an interview that Meng may not be directly related to the dump collapse in Shanxi Province, but he "should be held accountable for his leadership role."

Bulldozers and excavators clear the mud at the place where a mud-rock slide happened on Sept. 8, in Xiangfen County under Linfen City, north China's Shanxi Province, Sept. 11, 2008.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "Some people may take it as a bad luck for Mr. Meng, but it is nothing personal against him." Profession Wang said, noting that the punishment has been provided for by the law and it is a clear-cut message that government officials must be responsible for people's lives.

    According to Professor Wu Jiang, the installation of the new local government leadership must also be an explicit indication that the central government wants to find an enduring measure to solve the issue for the whole industry.

    With the introduction of the "people first" concept to the Communist Party of China and a series of laws and regulations on emergency response taking effect, the general work safety situation in the country has been steadily improving, with much fewer deaths reported each year.

    The total work place deaths in 2007 were 12.9 percent down from the previous year. But the figure still stood at 98,340, which was rather huge compared with the world average.

    Legal and administrative experts blame lax government law enforcement as the root cause of the still constant work place disasters in Shanxi Province and the nation as a whole.

    "The former work safety bureau director of Xiangfen had complained that he pointed out the danger of the mining waste dump to its business owner, but no one listened," Professor Wu said.

    "I have every reason to believe that the new governor Wang Jun, who is director of the State Administration of Work Safety, should find the way to make the business community in Shanxi listen," Professor Wu said.

    To address the work safety issue, more should be done than the massive replacements of Party and government officials.

    First, the mechanism for the assessment of Party and government officials must be improved to hold them accountable for the implementation of work safety measures before any accident takes place.

    Second, the public should be educated on work safety and mobilized to supervise the implementation of safety rules.

    "Provincial governors and mayors are not enough to deal with social management and the market economy, they should rely on the public."

    "Government transparency is not a gift to the people. It's real purpose is for the government to get feedback from the people," he said, adding that the same is true with the work safety issue.

    There are high hopes that the new governor of Shanxi Province will try his hand in his professional field, and in the social management field as well, in order to turn the resources-rich province into a safe place to live and work.

North China mud-rock flow death toll rises to 254

    XIANGFEN, Shanxi, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of a mud-rock flow in north China's Shanxi Province rose to 254 as of 8p.m. Saturday, local authorities said on Saturday night.

    Kang Haiyin, Communist Party committee chief of Xiangfen County, and Li Xuejun, the county head, have been suspended from duty. 

Tears, hopelessness accompanies mud-rock flow survivors over mid-Autumn Festival
 
    XIANGFEN, Shanxi, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Li Dengfeng, with his 4-year-old son in arms, sat desperately in the empty house, where the candle flickered beside the photo of his newly deceased wife.

    The 30-year-old man was in tears all day on Sunday, China's traditional mid-Autumn Festival, an occasion of family reunion.

China's Hu and Wen urge all-out efforts in rescue work of N China mud-rock flow 

    BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have urged all-out efforts in rescue operations following Monday's rain-triggered mud-rock flow in north China's Shanxi Province.

    The accident has led to a death toll of 128 by Wednesday, with another 35 injured. The number of people trapped underneath the rubble is still under investigation, local rescue headquarters said. Full story