THE latest Chinese mining disaster in which at least 203 men have lost their lives is the worst single mining loss since the Communists took power 55 years ago. This awful toll, however, is part of the even more appalling official statistic that, in the first nine months of this year, 4,153 people have died in Chinese mine accidents. Observers believe in fact that the real death toll is probably significantly higher; some put the figure at 20,000 because mine officials, anxious about holding on to their jobs, seek to cover up accidents for which they may be held responsible.
China is by no means an exception in experiencing such catastrophes during rapid economic development. In Britain during the Industrial Revolution, mine owners put profits ahead of safety, employed children to drag wagons through narrow shafts and accidents due to collapses, floods and gas poisoning were common. The death toll was unacceptable and in the end, a continued public outcry forced the British Parliament to act.
Unfortunately there seems likely to be little protest in China. It is a country busy making itself rich. The emerging middle class is content to compromise with the Communist government and get on with their prosperous working lives. In the countryside, from which many of the miners are recruited because of the higher wages that the mines offer, the party organization is still efficient and dissent is risky. Therefore the regular carnage that is taking place in the country’s mining industries is going to create little more than the tears of widows and orphans.
It falls thus to the international community to speak up for the men who risk their lives digging out what fuels China’s booming economy. In three years’ time Beijing will be hosting the Olympic Games and the entire world will be watching. It is expected that the authorities will move against any expressions of political dissent. They will, on the other hand, find it harder to limit interest in the way that ordinary Chinese are benefiting from the economic miracle — which means that there are few households anywhere in the world today which do not have dozens of items, from clothing to toys to electronic equipment, all stamped as “Made in China.”
China, which bids to be one of the economically dominant powers of this new century, must remember that health and safety legislation is part and parcel of economic maturity. Someone in Beijing needs to take responsibility for the mining sector and force management to introduce genuine safety measures and procedures in all mines.
This will undoubtedly cost many millions of dollars. It may indeed mean that some mines are so dangerous they will be closed. China’s newfound wealth, however, means that it can well afford to make these long-overdue investments. What it cannot afford is to be seen as a country that is so greedy for growth that it does not care how many of its workers perish in order to make their bosses and their country rich.
