The State Council on January 8 issued a general plan on
emergency response for industrial accidents and other
disasters.
Nine types of disasters are listed in the plan including
production safety, railway transportation, civil aviation, marine
salvage, subway transportation, large-scale power failures, and
nuclear, environment and communication security.
The plan aims to regulate emergency response management and
procedure, increase the government's efficiency and competence in
the face of such events, minimize casualties and property losses,
safeguard lives and maintain social stability.
The preamble to the plan is available on the Chinese
government's website www.gov.cn and
on Xinhua's, www.xinhuanet.com.
The plan stipulates that the State Council is the highest organ
in emergency response management. A special office will be set up
by the State Council for this purpose.
Events are ranked as follows: Class I (most serious), Class II
(serious), Class III (relatively serious) and Class IV (ordinary),
each represented by the colors red, orange, yellow and blue
respectively.
The plan also provides that those who make outstanding
contributions to emergency response will be awarded, while those
who fail to give accurate reports or try to cover up accidents will
be punished accordingly.
(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2006)