China's top legislature on Saturday began its first hearing of
the draft law on emergency management, aiming at upgrading the
country's ability to cope with frequent outbreaks of industrial
accidents, natural disasters, health and public security
hazards.
The decision to introduce such a law was made in May 2003, as
China was under the SARS threat, a time when the government's
inexperience to handle sudden virus outbreak led to one of the
country's most serious health hazards.
"It was drawn up after we studied emergency management
experiences in a dozen of developed countries including the United
States, Russia, Germany, Italy, and Japan, and conducted a series
of field study around China," said Cao Kangtai, director of
Legislative Affairs Office under the State Council, or China's
cabinet.
Addressing lawmakers on the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress on Saturday, Cao said the bill mainly regulates
the government's acts in hazard preparation, emergency detection
and declaration, emergency handling, and damage recovery.
Cao said introducing emergency management law will effectively
curb hazard outbreak, prevent common emergency from turning into
public crisis, and reduce the damages.
The bill stipulates penalties for local government officials
over failure in handling emergencies. Officials who fail to take
precaution measures, delay emergency declaration, or try to cover
up will face penalties up to sacking, it says.
Cao said it was aimed at restricting the administrative power in
unusual times, when the government can more easily abuse its power
to violate rights of the common people and non-governmental
organizations.
"China is a country frequently hit by natural disasters and
industrial accidents, which have caused huge loss of people's lives
and property," he said.
Police's record shows that the number of sudden natural and
industrial mishaps reached 5.61 million in 2004, leaving 210,000
people dead and another 1.75 million injured. The direct economic
loss topped 450 billion yuan (US$56.3 billion).
In 2005, bird flu broke out in several Chinese provinces leading
to a hundred million of fowl culled and a economic loss over a
hundred thousand. And late last year, a toxic spill in northeastern
Songhua River forced 4 million residents in the nearby city of
Harbin to live without tap water for four days.
Over the past three years, many officials have resigned or have
been removed from the posts for their inability to put emergencies
under control, including the former health minister Zhang Wenkang,
being sacked for SARS cover-up in 2003, and the former environment
minister Xie Zhenhua, who quitted the post in 2005 for the
situation of Songhua River pollution running out of hands.
(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2006)