Death Toll Rises in China Coal Mine Collapse
TimeNov 15, 2022
The Facts
At least two people have died and more than 50 people remain missing after an open pit mine collapsed in Alxa League in China's northern inner Mongolia region on Wednesday.
With less than two weeks before the annual National People's Congress — a major political event — Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping encouraged rescuers to save as many lives of the missing as possible and dedicated resources to investigating the cause of the collapse.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
While China's Communist Party touts itself as the protector of blue-collar workers, its lax and often negligent mining regulations say otherwise. Applying more stringent rules will slow production, and in a world that has restricted energy sourcing from Russia, China is prioritizing capitalization over safety.
Pro-China narrative
While there's still work to be done, mine safety in China has improved significantly in recent years. The country developed an action plan to improve the mining sector and invited other nations with exemplary records in mining safety to consult on training, regulations, and equipment — actions that will all lead to a safer environment for workers and a more productive industry for the country as a whole.