China has ordered coal mines to improve safety conditions or face closure, and has told government officials to get rid of their shares in mines by next month.
Also, officials in local government and state-owned enterprises who have personal investments in mines must withdraw them by Sept. 22 or risk severe punishment, the state-owned newspaper said.
The decision reflects the Chinese government's determination to regulate the mining industry after 9,000 workers died in mining accidents over the past 20 months.
Extensive official corruption has turned up in the investigation into an accident at Daxing Mine in southern Guangdong province Aug. 10 that left 120 people trapped in flooded shafts, China Daily said.
Current regulations ban Communist Party members and public servants from investing in businesses, but the practice is still widespread in the coal mining industry and other areas.
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