{"id":16155,"date":"2007-12-22T19:36:27","date_gmt":"2007-12-23T02:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2007\/12\/22\/coal-mine-safety-chief-wants-out-of-spotlight-great-wall-online\/"},"modified":"2007-12-22T19:36:27","modified_gmt":"2007-12-23T02:36:27","slug":"coal-mine-safety-chief-wants-out-of-spotlight-great-wall-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2007\/12\/coal-mine-safety-chief-wants-out-of-spotlight-great-wall-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Coal Mine Safety Chief Wants Out of Spotlight – Great Wall Online"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nTranslated by CDT from Great Wall Online:\n<\/p>\n
\nLi Yizhong (\u674e\u6bc5\u4e2d), the high profile coal mine safety chief of China, is known in the media as “China’s most exhausted senior official” and “the official who has erupted the most in anger,” mostly for trailing accidents across the country “putting out the fire.” Recently Li’s fellow comrade Gan Yisheng (\u5e72\u4ee5\u80dc<\/span>), deputy secretary of the Central Discipline Committee, said of him in a twist of humor, “Minister Li is the most popular face in the media, but this not a good thing. Every time he is on the camera, it means something big has happened.” Nodding his head, Li concluded, “I’d better disappear.” (China Youth Daily)\n<\/p>\n \nShanxi Province, the coal country and also home to the most mine accidents and fatalities, doesn’t want to see Li either, as some headlines have suggested. Still, Li is a frequent flyer there. Two years ago when there was a major accident, Li summed up the rolling deaths under the black ground on CCTV, “the bosses make green bucks, the farmers lose their sons, and the government has to become filial mourners.” The mourner he refers to includes himself, as he has toured the country’s most fatal grounds cleaning up the mess and making sure rescue and other efforts are done quickly.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \nThe successive tally of mine accidents are a result of local officials pursuit of increased GDP, some of whom are directly involved in mine investments. There are laws that are in place to theoretically beef up safety procedures and prevent illegitimate political entanglement with the black-gold business, but things seem always to be going awry, despite continuous attention from Beijing.\n<\/p>\n \nThe problem is, the laws are not adequately enforced. Only when the laws get put into practice, Li can have a chance to excuse himself from the spotlight, and take a break himself. [Full Text in Chinese<\/a>]\n<\/p>\n