Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio Transcript
Correspondents Report 8 June 2003
Reporter: John Taylor
EDMOND ROY: As China's SARS outbreak continues to capture the attention of the world, in the six months of this year more Chinese people have been killed in mining accidents than claimed by the new virus.
Official figures show nearly 1,600 miners died in Chinese mines in the first two months of this year.
Last month, 86 miners were killed after a gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in east China's Anhui province.
China Correspondent, John Taylor, looks at China's notoriously deadly mining industry.
JOHN TAYLOR: China has one of the deadliest coal mining industries in the world. A week hardly goes by without state media reporting an accident claiming dozens of lives.
Mr Huang Yi, a Spokesman for China's State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision, says the situation is improving though it remains grim.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: To tell you the truth, the Chinese Government pays great attention to work safety. In recent years, they have taken several methods to strengthen supervision on working safely.
The situation of coal mining is getting better. In the past, around 10,000 people would die in mining accidents. Since 2000, the death toll dropped to 7,000.
JOHN TAYLOR: There are many reasons why mining is so dangerous. An important one Mr Huang says is China's environment.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: The natural conditions of China's mines are bad. Most of them contain high rates of gas. Fifty per cent of mines have high rates of gas.
There are lots of gas accidents among China's mines. Seventy per cent of death toll was caused by gas explosion, especially 90 per cent of serious accidents were caused by gas.
JOHN TAYLOR: Then there is the sheer number of mines.
HUANG YI: First, the overall productive situation of China's mines are pretty low. We have around 28,000 mines, 25,000 of them are the small-scale mines.
Those small-scale mines do not have enough conditions for working safely. They are small and backward, so 80 per cent of accidents occurred within those small mines.
JOHN TAYLOR: But the mines are often very important to their local economies, for the dollars they generate and the jobs they support.
And then there are illegal mines. It's estimated there are about 20,000 operating in China, even though 60,000 have been closed in recent years.
Their operations appear hidden to authorities like Mr Huang in far off Beijing.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: The illegal mines are supported by corruption from local officials. Some officials took bribes from illegal mine owners. They acted as those people's protection umbrella.
So some illegal mine owners refuse to fulfil Government's orders and refuse to close down. They ignore the Government and the laws because they have some protection umbrellas.
JOHN TAYLOR: Even those that are closed often come back to life.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: Some officials from local mines when facing benefits, they want to make money and ignore lives. Because since the second half of last year, the Chinese coal market has been getting better and better.
The price has increased, so within such a circumstance some mines paid more attention to output and less attention to working safely. This is another reason behind those accidents.
In some areas, some small shutdown mines re-opened, because of money and high profits. For an example, all the mines that had serious accidents in this year, all of them used to be closed down.
JOHN TAYLOR: China is working to improve the industry's safety. The measures being taken include providing safety training for miners and their bosses, illegal mines are being closed, the technology being used in mines is being modernised, and the entire mining safety framework is being reformed.
But still about 7,000 coal miners die every year. The United States produces a similar amount of coal to China and it records about 30 deaths annually.
Even though China is working to reduce the fatality rate in its mines, Mr Huang estimates it will take 40 to 50 years for China to match the US.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: I think every government in the world cares about people's lives. China is a socialist country of course, people's lives and their safety is the priority.
Furthermore, in recent years we took several important measures to guarantee working safety. But we cannot say based on current situation we can achieve it immediately. To completely change the situation of working safely over night, it's not realistic. It will take time.
EDMOND ROY: Mr Huang Yi, a Spokesman for China State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision, speaking through a translator to China Correspondent, John Taylor.
http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2003/s874513.htm
Correspondents Report 8 June 2003
Reporter: John Taylor
EDMOND ROY: As China's SARS outbreak continues to capture the attention of the world, in the six months of this year more Chinese people have been killed in mining accidents than claimed by the new virus.
Official figures show nearly 1,600 miners died in Chinese mines in the first two months of this year.
Last month, 86 miners were killed after a gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in east China's Anhui province.
China Correspondent, John Taylor, looks at China's notoriously deadly mining industry.
JOHN TAYLOR: China has one of the deadliest coal mining industries in the world. A week hardly goes by without state media reporting an accident claiming dozens of lives.
Mr Huang Yi, a Spokesman for China's State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision, says the situation is improving though it remains grim.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: To tell you the truth, the Chinese Government pays great attention to work safety. In recent years, they have taken several methods to strengthen supervision on working safely.
The situation of coal mining is getting better. In the past, around 10,000 people would die in mining accidents. Since 2000, the death toll dropped to 7,000.
JOHN TAYLOR: There are many reasons why mining is so dangerous. An important one Mr Huang says is China's environment.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: The natural conditions of China's mines are bad. Most of them contain high rates of gas. Fifty per cent of mines have high rates of gas.
There are lots of gas accidents among China's mines. Seventy per cent of death toll was caused by gas explosion, especially 90 per cent of serious accidents were caused by gas.
JOHN TAYLOR: Then there is the sheer number of mines.
HUANG YI: First, the overall productive situation of China's mines are pretty low. We have around 28,000 mines, 25,000 of them are the small-scale mines.
Those small-scale mines do not have enough conditions for working safely. They are small and backward, so 80 per cent of accidents occurred within those small mines.
JOHN TAYLOR: But the mines are often very important to their local economies, for the dollars they generate and the jobs they support.
And then there are illegal mines. It's estimated there are about 20,000 operating in China, even though 60,000 have been closed in recent years.
Their operations appear hidden to authorities like Mr Huang in far off Beijing.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: The illegal mines are supported by corruption from local officials. Some officials took bribes from illegal mine owners. They acted as those people's protection umbrella.
So some illegal mine owners refuse to fulfil Government's orders and refuse to close down. They ignore the Government and the laws because they have some protection umbrellas.
JOHN TAYLOR: Even those that are closed often come back to life.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: Some officials from local mines when facing benefits, they want to make money and ignore lives. Because since the second half of last year, the Chinese coal market has been getting better and better.
The price has increased, so within such a circumstance some mines paid more attention to output and less attention to working safely. This is another reason behind those accidents.
In some areas, some small shutdown mines re-opened, because of money and high profits. For an example, all the mines that had serious accidents in this year, all of them used to be closed down.
JOHN TAYLOR: China is working to improve the industry's safety. The measures being taken include providing safety training for miners and their bosses, illegal mines are being closed, the technology being used in mines is being modernised, and the entire mining safety framework is being reformed.
But still about 7,000 coal miners die every year. The United States produces a similar amount of coal to China and it records about 30 deaths annually.
Even though China is working to reduce the fatality rate in its mines, Mr Huang estimates it will take 40 to 50 years for China to match the US.
(Sound of Huang Yi speaking)
HUANG YI: I think every government in the world cares about people's lives. China is a socialist country of course, people's lives and their safety is the priority.
Furthermore, in recent years we took several important measures to guarantee working safety. But we cannot say based on current situation we can achieve it immediately. To completely change the situation of working safely over night, it's not realistic. It will take time.
EDMOND ROY: Mr Huang Yi, a Spokesman for China State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision, speaking through a translator to China Correspondent, John Taylor.
http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2003/s874513.htm