China safety officials order holiday-return traffic and mine checks in video dispatch
In short
The State Council Work Safety Committee Office and the Ministry of Emergency Management held a video dispatch on October 5 on National Day holiday safety work, with minister Zhang Chengzhong calling for continued implementation of Xi Jinping's instructions. The meeting reported typical hazards found in unannounced inspections in transport, fire safety, culture and tourism, hazardous chemicals and mining, and said holiday accidents exposed inadequate control of major risks in some areas. It ordered measures on return traffic, tourist sites, autumn harvest farm vehicles, post-holiday work resumption and mine-shaft patrols, and warned of extreme-weather risks.
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The State Council Work Safety Committee Office and the Ministry of Emergency Management held a video dispatch on October 5 on safety precautions during the National Day holiday, according to CLS, Jiemian and Xinhua. Zhang Chengzhong, vice chairman of the State Council Work Safety Committee and minister of emergency management, said at the dispatch that Xi Jinping's instructions and the arrangements of the national work safety video conference must be implemented, that responsibility measures must be carried out in detail, and that the safety situation should remain stable so the public can enjoy the holiday. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The meeting reported typical problems and hidden dangers found in unannounced inspections by the committee office and the ministry in transport, fire safety, culture and tourism, hazardous chemicals and mining, and analysed what it described as prominent problems of inadequate major-risk control in some regions exposed by accidents during the holiday, according to CLS and Jiemian. It required that the problems found, especially major accident hazards, be rectified immediately. [ 1 , 2 ]
Noting that the holiday had entered its second half, the meeting said safety work remained heavy and called for vigilance against complacency and luck-based thinking, with strengthened duty shifts and unannounced inspections. It singled out return travel and tourism safety, calling for tighter supervision of highways, national and provincial roads and transport hubs, and for flow-limiting and diversion measures at busy road sections and station gates in advance to prevent over-concentration of vehicles and people from causing accidents. Scenic areas and large events were told to keep tightening controls to prevent stampedes. With the autumn harvest under way, the meeting said overloading and illegal passenger carrying by farm vehicles must be taken seriously and tackled. [ 2 ]
For the post-holiday period, the meeting called for early surveys of enterprises resuming work and production, requiring them to draw up plans, train returning staff and check facilities and equipment. It called for more patrols of abandoned and sealed mine shafts to resolutely curb a rise in illegal mining, and for continued hazard checks in hazardous chemicals, fire safety, construction, special equipment and fishing vessels. [ 2 ]
The meeting also stressed vigilance against extreme weather, pointing to possible disaster impacts from heavy rain in parts of eastern Jilin, eastern Fujian, Yunnan and Hainan, where authorities were told to strengthen monitoring and early warning, hold rolling consultations and give point-to-point guidance to high-risk areas to take precautions in advance. In central and eastern Inner Mongolia and northern and western North China, it called for stronger forest and grassland fire prevention, daily patrols and fire-source control. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The dispatch sets out instructions from China's central safety regulators to local authorities in the second half of the National Day holiday, a period when return travel and tourist crowds peak. The emphasis on immediate rectification of hazards found in unannounced inspections, and on preventing illegal mining at abandoned shafts, signals that regulators see gaps in local risk control. The extreme-weather guidance names specific provinces facing heavy rain and fire risk.
Key facts
- The State Council Work Safety Committee Office and the Ministry of Emergency Management held a video dispatch on National Day holiday safety work on October 5. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Zhang Chengzhong, vice chairman of the State Council Work Safety Committee and minister of emergency management, stressed implementing Xi Jinping's instructions and the arrangements of the national work safety video conference. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The meeting reported typical hazards found in unannounced inspections in transport, fire safety, culture and tourism, hazardous chemicals and mining. [ 1 , 2 ]
- It said holiday accidents exposed inadequate control of major risks in some regions, and demanded immediate rectification of hidden dangers, especially major accident hazards. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Officials were told to guard against return-traffic and tourism risks, including crowd limits at busy road sections and station gates and prevention of stampedes at scenic spots and large events. [ 2 ]
- The meeting called for attention to overloading and illegal passenger carrying by farm vehicles during the autumn harvest, and for safety preparations as businesses resume work after the holiday. [ 2 ]
- It called for patrols of abandoned and sealed mine shafts to curb illegal mining, and continued hazard checks in hazardous chemicals, fire, construction, special equipment and fishing vessels. [ 2 ]
- The meeting warned of heavy-rain risk in parts of eastern Jilin, eastern Fujian, Yunnan and Hainan, and of forest and grassland fire prevention in central and eastern Inner Mongolia and northern and western North China. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The State Council Work Safety Committee Office and the Ministry of Emergency Management held a video dispatch on National Day holiday safety work on October 5. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Zhang Chengzhong, vice chairman of the State Council Work Safety Committee and minister of emergency management, stressed implementing Xi Jinping's instructions and the national work safety video conference's arrangements. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The meeting reported typical hazards from unannounced inspections in transport, fire safety, culture and tourism, hazardous chemicals and mining, and analysed holiday accidents that exposed inadequate major-risk control in some regions. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- Which specific accidents occurred during the holiday, where they happened and what losses they caused. The documents refer to holiday accidents exposing inadequate risk control but give no incident details, locations or figures.
- The specific problems and hidden dangers found in the unannounced inspections. Both outlets say typical problems were reported in five sectors but neither lists the individual findings.
- Whether the central government released its own full account of the dispatch. Xinhua, the official outlet, carried only a headline with no summary or article text, so its account could not be compared with the business outlets' reports.
- The exact timing and location of the dispatch. The documents give October 5 as the date and describe it as a video dispatch, but state no city or start time.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- CLS publishes its report on the October 5 video dispatch, leading with Zhang Chengzhong's instructions and the hazards found in unannounced inspections. [ 1 ]
- Jiemian publishes the full account, including return-traffic and tourism measures, mine-shaft patrols and the warning on extreme weather. [ 2 ]
- Xinhua publishes a headline on the dispatch. [ 3 ]