(Promulgated by Decree No. 302 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on April 21, 2001, and effective as of the date of promulgation)

Article 1These Provisions are formulated for the purposes of effectively preventing occurrence of extraordinarily serious safety accidents, earnestly investigating for administrative responsibility for extraordinarily serious safety accidents and safeguarding the safety of life and property of the people.

Article 2Where, according to the provisions of laws, administrative regulations and these Provisions, the principal leader of a local people's government or the highest responsible person of a relevant government department commits an act of default or negligence of his duty or shall assume the leading responsibility for prevention or occurrence of the following extraordinarily serious safety accidents, he shall be given administrative sanctions according to these Provisions; where he commits a crime of dereliction of duty or any other crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

(1) extraordinarily serious fire accidents;

(2) extraordinarily serious traffic safety accidents;

(3) extraordinarily serious construction quality safety accidents;

(4) extraordinarily serious safety accidents in civil explosives or dangerous chemicals;

(5) extraordinarily serious safety accidents in coal mines or other mines;

(6) extraordinarily serious safety accidents in boilers, pressure containers, pressure pipes or lines or special equipment; or

(7) other extraordinarily serious safety accidents.

The persons who are directly in charge and the other persons who are directly responsible of the local people's governments or relevant government departments for prevention or occurrence of extraordinarily serious safety accidents shall be given administrative sanctions by applying mutatis mutandis these Provisions; where they commit crimes of dereliction of duty or other crimes, they shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Criminal penalties, administrative penalties and civil responsibilities imposed on the units and individuals that cause extraordinarily serious safety accidents shall be governed by the provisions of relevant laws, regulations and rules.

Article 3Specific criteria for extraordinarily serious safety accidents shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State.

Article 4The local people's governments at various levels and relevant government departments shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws, regulations and rules, take administrative measures to conduct safety supervision and control within their respective areas and to safeguard the safety of life and property of the people within their respective areas, and be responsible for preventing occurrence of extraordinarily serious safety accidents, and for rapid and correct treatment after occurrence of the accidents within their respective areas or the scope of their duties.

Article 5A local people's government shall hold at least one meeting each quarter for guarding against extraordinarily serious safety accidents. The principal leader of the government or his authorized leader of the government who is in charge shall summon the highest responsible persons of relevant departments to attend the meeting for analyzing, arranging, urging and inspecting the work of guarding against extraordinarily serious safety accidents within its area. At the meeting, decisions and minutes shall be made. All preventative measures determined at the meeting shall be implemented rigorously.

Article 6The people's government of a city (prefecture or autonomous prefecture) or county (city or district) shall organize relevant departments, according to the division of their functions and powers, to define their responsibilities and take measures against safety accidents in units, facilities and sites within its area where extraordinary serious accidents easily occur, and organize relevant departments to carry out strict inspection over the above-mentioned units, facilities and sites.

Article 7The people's government of a city (prefecture or autonomous prefecture) or county (city or district) must work out a preparatory program for emergency treatment of extraordinarily serious safety accidents within its area, which, after being signed by the principal leader of the government, shall be reported to the people's government at the next higher level for the record.

Article 8The people's government of a city (prefecture or autonomous prefecture) or county (city or district) shall organize relevant departments to investigate into and deal with the hidden dangers of all extraordinarily serious safety accidents listed in Article 2 of these Provisions; it shall, after discovering a hidden danger of any extraordinarily serious safety accident, order the an elimination without delay; where the safety cannot be guaranteed before or in the course of elimination of the hidden danger of an extraordinarily serious safety accident, it shall order to suspend production, business or use. Where laws or administrative regulations provide for the investigation and treatment organs, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 9The people's government of a city (prefecture or autonomous prefecture) or county (city or district) or its relevant department shall promptly report a hidden danger of any extraordinarily serious safety accident within its area that is beyond the scope of its jurisdiction or duty to the people's government at the higher level that has the power of jurisdiction or duty; under the emergency circumstances, it may take emergency measures, including ordering to suspend production or business and shall make a report simultaneously; the people's government at the higher level or government department concerned shall organize investigation and treatment immediately after receipt of the report.

Article 10In carrying out education of labor skill ability for their students and in organizing their students to participate in public-spirited labors and other social practices, secondary or primary schools must guarantee the safety of students. They are strictly forbidden to organize in any form or name their students to engage in labors in which inflammable, explosive, toxic or harmful articles are involved or in other dangerous labors. They are strictly forbidden to lend their sites for production or operation of dangerous products such as inflammable, explosive, toxic or harmful articles.

Where a secondary or primary school violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the principal leaders of the people's governments of the county (city or district) and the township (town) and the highest responsible person of the administrative department of education of the people's government of the county (city or district) shall be given administrative sanctions of demerit, demotion and even up to dismissal from their posts in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances and according to the subordinate relationship; where they commit crimes of dereliction of duty or other crimes, they shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Where a secondary or primary school violates the provisions of the Paragraph 1 of this Article, the head of the school shall be given an administrative sanction of dismissal from his post, and the person who directly organizes the activity shall be given an administrative sanction of discharge from public service; where they commit crimes of illegally manufacturing explosives or other crimes, they shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Article 11The government departments or organs responsible for administrative examination and approval in respect of the safety in production (including approval, confirmation, permit, registration, authentication, issuance of certificate and license, and acceptance inspection, etc., the same hereinafter) according to law must carry out examination and approval strictly in accordance with the safety requirements and procedures specified by laws, regulations and rules, and may not grant approval to those who fail to satisfy the safety requirements specified by laws, regulations and rules. Where a party concerned that fails to satisfy the safety requirements specified by laws, regulations and rules obtains approval by resorting to deception or by colluding or collaborating with a staff responsible for administrative examination and approval, the government department or organ responsible for administrative examination and approval shall, in addition to revoking existing approval promptly, give administrative penalties to the party concerned that obtains approval or colludes or collaborates with the staff responsible for administrative examination and approval according to law; where the party concerned commits a crime of offering bribes or any other crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Where a government department or organ responsible for administrative examination or approval, in violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, grants approval to a party concerned that fails to satisfy the safety requirements specified by laws, regulations and rules, the highest responsible person of the department or organ shall be given administrative sanctions of demotion, dismissal from his post and even up to discharge from public service in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances; where he colludes or collaborates with the party concerned, he shall be discharged from public service; where he commits a crime of acceptance of bribes, a crime of dereliction of duty or any other crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Article 12The government departments or organs responsible for administrative examination and approval shall carry out strict supervision and inspection over the units and individuals that have obtained approval according to the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 11 of these Provisions; and must revoke approval promptly after discovering that they do not satisfy the safety requirements any longer.

Where a government department or organ responsible for administrative examination and approval, in violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, fails to carry out strict supervision and inspection over a unit or an individual that has obtained approval or fails to revoke approval promptly after discovering that the unit or individual does not satisfy the safety requirements any longer, the highest responsible person of the department or organ shall be given administrative sanctions of demotion and dismissal from his post in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances; where he commits a crime of acceptance of bribes, a crime of dereliction of duty or any other crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Article 13Those who engage in relevant activities without obtaining approval according to law shall be closed down or banned and be given administrative penalties according to law by the governmental departments or organs responsible for administrative examination and approval promptly after discovery or receipt of the report; if they are the business units, the administrative departments for industry and commence shall revoke their business license according to law.

Where a government department or organ responsible for administrative examination and approval, in violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, fails to close down or ban a party concerned that engages in relevant activities without obtaining approval according to law or fails to give administrative penalties thereto according to law after discovery or receipt of the report, or an administrative department for industry and commence fails to revoke the business license, the highest responsible person of the department or organ shall be given administrative sanctions of demotion and dismissal from his post in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances; where he commits a crime of acceptance of bribes, a crime of dereliction of duty or any other crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Article 14Where the people's government of a city (prefecture or autonomous prefecture) or a county (city or district) fails to perform its duty that should be performed according to these Provisions or fails to perform its duty according to the specified duty and procedure, thus causing occurrence of an extraordinarily serious safety accident within its area, the principal leader of the government shall be given administrative sanctions of demotion and dismissal from his post in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances; where he commits a crime of dereliction of duty, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Where a government department or organ responsible for administrative examination and approval or a relevant government department responsible for safety supervision and control fails to perform its duty according to these Provisions, thus causing occurrence of an extraordinarily serious safety accident, the highest responsible person of the department or organ shall be given administrative sanctions of dismissal from his post and discharge from public service in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances; where he commits a crime of dereliction of duty or any other crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Article 15After an extraordinarily serious safety accident occurs, thus causing very bad social effect or serious character, the State Council shall give administrative sanctions to the governor of the province, the chairman of the autonomous region or the mayor of the municipality directly under the Central Government and the highest responsible person of the relevant department of the State Council who assume the leading responsibility therefor.

Article 16After an extraordinarily serious safety accident occurs, the people's governments of the county (city or district) or the city (prefecture or autonomous prefecture) concerned and the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government concerned and the government department concerned shall, without delay, report the accident to the superior authorities in accordance with the procedures and time limit specified by the State, and may not conceal, report falsely or delay the report, and shall actively cooperate and assist the investigation into the accident, and may not hinder or interfere the accident investigation in any form.

Where, after an extraordinarily serious safety accident occurs, the local people's government or government department concerned violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the principal leader of the government or the highest responsible person of the government department shall be given an administrative sanction of demotion.

Article 17After an extraordinarily serious safety accident occurs, the local people's governments concerned shall rapidly organize assistance and rescue, and relevant departments shall obey directions and arrangement and participate in or cooperate with the assistance and rescue so as to minimize the loss from the accident.

Article 18After an extraordinarily serious safety accident occurs, the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government concerned shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State, make public the information about the accident rapidly and truthfully.

Article 19After an extraordinarily serious safety accident occurs, the investigation group shall be organized in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State for carrying out investigation. The work of investigation into the accident shall be completed within 60 days after occurrence of the accident, and the investigation group shall work out an investigation report. Under the special circumstances, the period may be appropriately extended upon approval of the State organ for supervision and control over safe production at the request of the investigation group. The investigation report shall contain the opinions of investigation for administrative responsibility or other legal responsibilities of the persons concerned who are responsible therefor.

The people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall, within 30 days from the date of receiving the investigation report, make decisions of punishment on the persons concerned who are responsible therefor; when necessary, the State Council may make decisions of punishment on the persons concerned who are responsible for the extraordinarily serious safety accident.

Article 20Where a local people's government or government department hinders or interferes in the investigation for administrative responsibility of the persons concerned who are responsible for an extraordinarily serious safety accident, the principal leader of the said local people's government or the highest responsible person of the said government department shall be given administrative sanctions of demotion and dismissal from his post in the light of the seriousness of the circumstances.

Article 21All units and individuals are entitled to report the hidden dangers of extraordinarily serious safety accidents to the local people's governments or government departments concerned, and are entitled to report the default of the local people's governments or government departments for the duty of safety supervision and control or their failure to perform their duty according to the provisions to the superior people's governments or government departments. The people's governments or departments concerned that receive such report or information shall immediately organize the investigation into the hidden dangers of the accidents, or into the default or failure to perform the duty of safety supervision and control according to the provisions.

Article 22Supervisory organs shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Supervision, impose supervision over the performance of the local people's governments and government departments at various levels and their staff for the duty of safety supervision and control.

Article 23The people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall formulate the measures for investigation for administrative responsibility for guarding against and occurrence of safety accidents other than extraordinarily serious safety accidents with reference to these Provisions.

Article 24These Provisions shall be effective as of the date of promulgation.