State Council: Major Accidents Duly InvestigatedThe Henan fire on last December 25 claiming 309 lives had once brought a big shock in China and abroad. Though the fire has been specially probed into yet no due punishment has been finally given.Since 2000 the State Council has set up a responsibility affixing system and four investigation groups had therefore been formed to take up major accidents such as Pingxiang City's fireworks explosion, March 24, fireworks blast in Shangli County, August 2, the air crash in Wuhan, June 22, gas explosion in Muchonggou Mine in Guizhou, September 27, and the shipwreck in Yantai, Shandong, November 24. Punishment for the shipwreck is most severe among others, in which four cadres of provincial or ministerial levels were principled, including the former minister and vice-minister of the Ministry of Communications, governor and deputy governor of Shandong Province. The accident has caused huge losses for people's life and property and shocked the society as a whole. Officials involved should shoulder responsibilities, as leaders at least if not direct responsibilities, for power and responsibility form the two sides of the whole leading work and therefore can not be severed, said officials for discipline inspection of the CPC. A country's democratic politics should include public opinion politics, law politics and responsibility politics, said Zhang Chengfu, a senior research fellow specializing in government administration and reforms. By PD Online staff member Li Heng |
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