China Shuts Down 1,611 Illegal Coal Mines

BEIJING — China has shut down more than 1,600 small, illegal coal mines this year as part of an effort to improve safety standards in a mining industry that is the most dangerous in the world.

The state-backed People's Daily newspaper reported Thursday that 1,611 small mines across China with outdated facilities were closed this year, citing the National Energy Bureau.

More than 2,600 people died in mining accidents in China last year, though deaths have decreased in recent years as the government increased safety inspections and shut down illegal mines.

In October, the State Administration of Work Safety said mine managers and bosses who do not accompany workers down into mine shafts would be severely punished.

Comments

[mmike1969]

06:39 PM on 10/20/2010

hmm, I bet there are 10x as many illegal mines the Chinese Government knows nothing about or DO know about but are taking bribes (excuse me, collecting taxes) for...

[CanMav]

04:17 AM on 10/20/2010

The mines will be closed until the owners pay a bribe to the local officials, then they will open again

[RealityZone]

01:26 AM on 10/20/2010

Why can't America do this? China's system has its advantages, that's for sure. Not least of which is the intolerance for superstitions like christianity.

[Teagle03]

03:34 PM on 10/19/2010

Yea I believe them

[mike72]

08:09 PM on 10/19/2010

whether or not you believe them is irrelevant. you contribute nothing to the greener development of china. go get you wal-mart fix.

[Schweik]

11:19 PM on 10/18/2010

Good for them.

[roninroshi]

08:42 PM on 10/18/2010

Heres a video that illustrates the "Working Mans Death"...
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2010/10/2010101113656323582.html

[JScott]

09:26 AM on 10/18/2010

China Shuts Down 1,611 Illegal Coal Mines

at least until the media spotlight goes away

[mike72]

08:15 PM on 10/19/2010

realistically Chinese government does not give a darn about so called international spot light. they have their own plan of doing thing and blow their own trail.

[Sans Octavian]

04:10 AM on 10/18/2010

The owners of the mines didn't pay their yearly "guan xi". Pay to play.

[Kenz300]

09:30 PM on 10/17/2010

China is shutting down small coal mines and supporting a growing Green
energy program.

Wind and solar are growing very fast supported by government subsidies.

Soon they will be leaders in the emerging technologies and we will be buying
from them instead of selling to them.

Where is our national energy policy?

Oh - I forgot -- the party of NO is holding it hostage.

Would donations from the oil and coal industry have anything to do with that?

[m2b]

09:24 PM on 10/17/2010

Its interesting how fast pro Chinese Government trolls end up on a forum when the word "Falun Gong" is mentioned. Watch the replies.

[mike72]

11:05 PM on 10/17/2010

I think it is qute frustrating for people like you whose only objective is to paint China in negative light to be encountered at every step with more rational and less extreme observation of how this world runs.

It is very fortunate that people won't be subject to your TEA PARTY like, knee jerkng comments all the time. And that people have a chance to see US, China and many of part of the world and politics around the world with a more rational view.

As long as people like you exist, there will be people out there fight against you and keep US society more rational, more sane, and focus on the real cause and problem in ths society, instead of looking for scape goat out in the world under canned and tired ideology frenzy.

[m2b]

11:21 PM on 10/17/2010

Whoa hold up. 1st of all, Tea Party, what! I don't know where you came to that conclusion. I have many Tibetan friends from a young age so I feel somewhat close to the human rights abuses taking place in that country. China commits its own atrocities and paints a picture of itself, I just mentioned something they did. By the way, since when did a bagger care about human rights?

[m2b]

11:26 PM on 10/17/2010

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried.

[Selina Spence]

06:52 PM on 10/17/2010

Maybe the lack of cheap stuff will shut down Walmart. I would consider that a victory.

[mike72]

09:18 PM on 10/17/2010

It really depends if China can successfully transform its industry objective and market oriented to internal consumption.

1) thepropagation of Chinese Yuan as an international trade token. If not international, at least through South East Asia and through nation to nation direct currency exchange

2) the development of consumer market with elevated minium salary. This has the implication of shifting from raw capitalism to a more traditional socialism market oriented economy. Thare are many signs of this shift, in term of salary rise, the suppression of housing prices, the anti-corruption campaign, the confiscation of "development" land.

China is not shunning itself from international trade, but treat international trade more as a part of an overall economic strategy, instead of the only strategy. Even for international trade, it is getting more and more focus in markets other than US, which runs the risk of defaulting on most of their I-OWE-YOU papers (aka US fiat Dollar) and focus more on nation-to-nation currency swap.

At the same time, China is working closely with Europe for Euro is holding up and stands as a viable alterantive international trade accounting token, in the face of US Dollar balck mail to the workd (QUANTITATIVE EASING is just a term of blackmailing the world.)

[mike72]

09:18 PM on 10/17/2010

We will see more to come. Please look beyond the minute topics and focus on the largeer trend of human development. If you look high enough and have a far enough insight and vision, you will realize China is the postitive energy that keeps this world stable. I hope many of you can develop this insight.

[Selina Spence]

11:04 PM on 10/18/2010

I will view China as a positive energy when they stop murdering female children so they can keep trying for a boy.

[Jeff Forsythe]

05:32 PM on 10/17/2010

One should not believe anything that the Chinese Communist Party says. it practices slavery, torture and even organ harvesting on its own people.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday, Mar.16, 2010, urging the Chinese Communist Party to end its decade-long campaign against Falun Gong and expressing solidarity with victims of persecution in China.

House Resolution 605 recognizes, “the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China on the 11th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party campaign to suppress the Falun Gong spiritual movement and calling for an immediate end to the campaign to persecute, intimidate, imprison, and torture Falun Gong practitioners.” “The Falun Gong spiritual discipline is based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance,” said Ros-Lehtinen. “Yet these innocents are brutally targeted by the Chinese regime. The stark reality which this resolution addresses gives new meaning to the phrase 'Butchers of Beijing.’
Thank you for your consideration.

[khanti]

06:45 PM on 10/17/2010

Ah! So you are a Falun Gong practioner no wonder the anti - chinese sentiments.

[m2b]

08:58 PM on 10/17/2010

The poster didn't mention anywhere in his comment he or she was Falun Gong. The poster commented on a terrible human rights abuse that has been going on for quite some time now in China.

[mike72]

09:02 PM on 10/17/2010

m2b, are you a FLG member too? :)

[pierre F Lherisson]

06:14 AM on 10/17/2010

Whether it is aviation disasters, car crashes, crimes, earthquakes, floods, mines incidents or whatever the case, it appears that specific news comes and goes like fashion.

[moonlightesq]

07:47 PM on 10/16/2010

The owners of those 1,611 coal mines must not have paid enough $ to the government officials.

[logicanada]

01:12 AM on 10/17/2010

Better take lessons from American coal mine owners.

[Julie Zhou]

11:46 AM on 10/16/2010

The economy of China today is built the same way the Great Wall was built: On top of millions of dead laborers.

[Lou Pucci]

12:01 AM on 10/17/2010

Same as America... over 50 million African Slaves.

[cyoohoos]

06:07 PM on 10/17/2010

How soon they forget.

[Selina Spence]

06:51 PM on 10/17/2010

And countless numbers of Native Americans as well as the countless indentured servants and the Chinese that laid the transcontinental railroad. This country was built on the backs of everyone that didn't have money. You were owned if you were an indentured servant. You had a bill to pay and you were property till it was paid off and most people didn't live long enough to pay it off.