Anbao Commentary: One must never prioritize money over life, or coal over the law

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Anbao Commentary: One Must Not Prioritize Money Over Lives or Coal Over the Law Summary: All regions, relevant departments, and coal mining enterprises must draw lessons from these tragic incidents, and ensure that all arrangements related to safety inspections are implemented in every department, enterprise, and coal mine. They should make corrections as they conduct inspections, using these inspections to drive improvements, so as to achieve full coverage. One must under no circumstances prioritize coal over lives, money over lives, or coal production over compliance with the law. Recently, a series of serious accidents in coal mines have occurred, clearly revealing that some coal mining enterprises fail to fulfill their responsibilities, do not carry out proper inspections and rectifications of potential hazards, and are driven by the profit gains from rising coal prices to engage in risky production activities in violation of regulations ； In some areas and enterprises, the responsibilities related to comprehensive safety inspections are not properly fulfilled, the organization of such inspections is inadequate, and they are not carried out effectively. All regions, relevant departments, and coal mining enterprises must truly draw lessons from these tragic incidents. They need to ensure that all arrangements and measures related to safety inspections are implemented in every department, every enterprise, and every coal mine. They should make corrections as they conduct inspections, using these inspections to drive improvements, so as to achieve full coverage. It is absolutely unacceptable to prioritize coal production over human lives, or to pursue profits at the expense of safety, or to ignore the law in pursuit of coal production. Coal mining enterprises must earnestly assume their primary responsibilities and carry out thorough and comprehensive inspections for safe production. Leadership cadres in various coal mines, especially those in state-owned coal enterprises, should establish a responsibility system for inspecting each mine. The chairman or general manager of the enterprise’s headquarters or group company is the primary person responsible for conducting comprehensive safety inspections; they must organize leadership cadres at all levels within the enterprise to assign responsibilities to specific individuals for each mine, and to carry out thorough inspections to identify and address potential hazards, ensuring that no areas are overlooked. There are serious hazards in coal mines, such as inadequate identification of disaster-causing factors, imperfect ventilation systems, insufficient measures to prevent gas and water-related disasters, and abnormal operation of safety monitoring systems; it is necessary to suspend operations immediately and carry out comprehensive and thorough rectifications. Effectively strengthen the safety supervision and inspection of mines engaged in normal production and construction. Coal mine safety supervision departments at all levels shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, assume safety supervision duties for the various coal mines under their direct oversight, and assign and designate supervisors for each coal mine. It is necessary to strengthen supervision, inspection, and law enforcement, thoroughly examine whether various systems are sound and properly implemented, verify whether all safety production systems are functioning properly and reliably, investigate whether production is carried out beyond capacity, beyond safe limits, or with more workers than allowed, and check for any imbalances in mining and extraction activities. For those with serious safety hazards, strict penalties shall be imposed; where shutdown is necessary, orders shall be issued in accordance with the law to suspend operations for rectification. Effectively strengthen resource integration, technological upgrades, and safety supervision and inspection in coal mines. The acquiring enterprise must strengthen the safety management of the coal mines being acquired. When integrating coal mine renovation projects, it is necessary to update relevant licenses and permits in accordance with regulations and go through the appropriate approval procedures. The coal mines that are integrated must have their relevant licenses and permits revoked in accordance with the law, and any shafts or tunnels that are designated in the approved design as not to be used must be properly sealed off. Coal mine safety supervision and inspection agencies at all levels must strictly investigate activities that involve exceeding designated limits or boundaries, as well as mining methods that are explicitly prohibited. They should analyze data related to the progress of mining operations, coal production and sales volumes, the amount of explosives used, and electricity consumption. Additionally, such agencies must strictly address illegal and irregular practices such as fake integration processes, failure to carry out necessary technical upgrades, continued production despite ongoing construction, and multiple simultaneous production systems in existing mines. Effectively strengthen the safety supervision of mines that have been shut down for a long time. For coal mines that have been shut down for a long time, the power supply department must cut off electricity to those mines, and the public security department must stop supplying explosives to them. For each mine that has ceased operations, the county (city, district) designates a specific department or township to be responsible for supervision and to ensure that production is truly halted. Coal mine safety supervision authorities should strengthen inspections, focusing on whether shutdown measures have been implemented and whether operations are continuing in secret despite the official shutdown orders, in order to prevent illegal production activities under the pretext of carrying out rectifications. Strict acceptance procedures must be followed for resuming production and work; the principle of \"whoever conducts the inspection, signs the document, and takes responsibility\" should be adhered to. It is not allowed to illegally delegate lower-level local authorities and their departments to sign documents or carry out inspections on behalf of others. Strengthen safety supervision over mines included in the capacity reduction plan. Coal mines that are included in the plan to reduce overcapacity in the coal industry must cease production immediately. It is not allowed to establish any \"transition period\" or \"withdrawal period\" in violation of regulations; these mines should be phased out as soon as possible, with announcements made in a timely manner. Municipal and county-level coal mine safety supervision departments should assign dedicated personnel to monitor the situation, focusing on ensuring that production has been halted as required, in order to firmly prevent accidents resulting from forced production. Enforce the law strictly and hold those responsible accountable rigorously. Coal mine safety supervision agencies at all levels, coal industry management departments, and coal mine safety inspection bodies at all levels must coordinate their efforts and work together. All supervision and inspection personnel, aside from those on duty, should immediately go to the mines to conduct thorough inspections of safety conditions, and take strict action against any illegal or non-compliant mining activities. Any major safety hazards identified must be listed in detail, responsibilities assigned, follow-up actions taken, and rectifications enforced. In cases of serious illegal activities such as mining beyond approved limits, operating beyond capacity, or resuming operations without authorization, production must be halted immediately for rectification, and the most severe penalties must be imposed. Cases that require legal action should be referred to the judicial authorities promptly, and such incidents should be publicly disclosed in local media and websites to create a deterrent effect and serve as a warning. Coal mine safety supervision agencies at all levels shall organize all supervision and law enforcement personnel to carry out focused inspections, and promptly report any issues identified, especially those that are common, to the relevant local authorities and departments. At the same time, we also call on miners to be self-disciplined and reflective, as well as to show love and mutual assistance toward one another. **Do not drill wells when it is explicitly prohibited; do not extract coal that exceeds quotas or boundaries ； If any major safety hazards are detected, production must be halted and workers must be evacuated; any illegal or non-compliant activities in the mine must be reported without hesitation. One must enhance safety awareness and develop good safety habits; one should also remind fellow workers and supervise managers and owners to act in accordance with the law. Family members of coal miners should act as wise spouses, offering gentle reminders to their husbands, urging them not to take chances or seek immediate pleasure at the expense of putting themselves in danger and risking the destruction of their happy families.