Double standards in safety supervision

Of all the accidents of this kind, the explosion in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, especially hurts, and is worth thinking about, because it happened in one of China's most developed regions. We need to think again over the accident, not only because of the loss of life, but also because what Kunshan neglected, namely the safety of workers, is being neglected by other regions that hope to copy its economic success.

Beijing News, Aug 4

Some blame the enterprise for ignoring workers' safety, but why has the local safety supervision department never effectively intervened over the past 16 years? Reports show that workers had on a number of occasions reported the possible dangers, as well as a fire in the factory two months ago, but the safety supervisors never required the factory to stop production and strengthen safety measures.

It is common practice for authorities in many regions to adopt loose safety standards over enterprises as long as they contribute to the local economy and pay large amounts of tax. That's wrong thinking because it supports economic development at the cost of workers' safety and that's the root cause of this tragedy.

jcrb.com, Aug 4

There have been many similar accidents; they might differ in cause, but they teach us the same lesson and reveal the same deep problems. Why have we never learnt anything from them? On the road toward further development, we must have a greater sense of safety, better safety standards, as well as stricter supervision to prevent such accidents from happening again.

People's Daily, Aug 4

Supervision over safety must be effective because it must protect workers; however, supervising departments in many regions seem to have double standards for mainland and other enterprises. The Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products Co Ltd involved in the blast is funded by capital from Taiwan, China, while Shanghai Husi Food in the recent expired meat scandal is a foreign-invested venture; supervision over them was so loose that tragedies finally happened. Supervisors nationwide must learn from the bloody lesson.

hsw.cn, Aug 4