China spends on coalmine safety

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao has promised the state is to spend 3bn yuan ($362m; £189m) to “truly make coal mining safe”, state media reported.

The money will be used to improve safety equipment at state-run mines.

At least 6,000 miners died in China’s mines last year, making them the deadliest in the world
Mr Wen made the pledge in his speech to the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, stressing the need to improve the lives of poorer Chinese.

He called for “a strong sense of responsibility to the people”, and linked the issue of better mine safety to the maintenance of social stability and the building of “a harmonious society”, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Promoting a gentler society

Mr Wen has made the need for better treatment of workers and farmers into a major political theme since he became premier two years ago.

CHINA’S MINING DISASTERS
World’s most deadly mining industry – 6000 killed in 2004
Demand for energy jeopardises safety
Government did not disclose details of accidents until recently
World’s most deadly mining accident took place in China in 1942 – 1,549 people died in Japanese-occupied Manchuria

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4325427.stm