China has boosted central leadership in emergency response as large swathes of the country continue to battle heavy rainfall and drought, with more extreme weather forecast in the coming months.
Under a revised Emergency Response Law adopted on Friday, there will be stronger central mechanisms on warning, reporting, and handling “natural disasters, serious accidents, public health or public safety incidents”.
“In accordance with the principles of centralised management [and] unified allocation”, the state shall also improve the “emergency distribution system” of relief materials and improve energy security to “ensure supply in areas affected by emergencies”, according to the revised law.
The revision, passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body, takes effect in November.
Maximum penalties for anyone failing to fulfil their legal responsibilities during emergencies will increase fivefold under the revised law – from 200,000 yuan (US$27,520) to a million yuan to deter “particularly serious” situations, according to the amendment.
The revision was prompted by China’s experience during Covid-19, an NPC spokesman said earlier.
President Xi Jinping had ordered the building of a centralised emergency resource reserves system in February 2020, shortly after China imposed its strict zero-Covid policy involving mass quarantine and testing and border controls.
The central government drove the general pandemic fight but left leeway for varied implementation on local levels. Under the policy, China had a relatively low rate of infections for about two years, before mass outbreaks followed an abrupt lifting of curbs in late 2022.
China has grappled with increasingly extreme weather in recent months, as continued floods and downpours in some regions and drought-like conditions in others take a toll on lives and the economy, especially the agriculture sector.
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Riverbeds crack as Chinese farmers struggle through intense heatwave
Riverbeds crack as Chinese farmers struggle through intense heatwave
The south in particular has been hit by months of devastating rainfall, with dozens killed in one county in Guangdong province alone last week.
The weather office has warned of worse to come this year.
On Saturday, the National Meteorological Centre issued its highest rainfall warning under a four-tier system as areas in four provinces in the south and southeast recorded 250mm (9.8 inches) to 322mm of rainfall within 24 hours.
The revision of the 2007 law was aimed at “improving the emergency response management and command systems, with the responsibilities of all parties clarified”, state news agency Xinhua reported.
A newly added line highlighted the goal of an “enhanced, centralised, unified, efficient, and authoritative leadership system for emergency response work with Chinese characteristics”.
Under the revised law, the building of centralised emergency resource reserves will be stepped up for efficient allocation, while the catalogue of reserves will be actively updated by departments under the State Council, China’s cabinet.
The country will also set up a “comprehensive emergency warning platform”, while media and telecoms and internet service providers should establish a “quick channel” for releasing emergency information.
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Xi Jinping urges all-out efforts as floods and droughts grip parts of China
Xi Jinping urges all-out efforts as floods and droughts grip parts of China
The amendment also strictly forbids “any institution or individual” from fabricating or spreading false information about emergencies and requires the government to clarify any information that it becomes aware of “that may affect the stability of society”.
Local governments should “provide guidance” to news media and support them with news reporting and conducting public opinion supervision, while “news media should report on emergencies in a timely, accurate, objective and fair manner”.
The clause, however, has prompted concerns that it may curb media reporting of natural disasters, as local governments usually herd reporters into a press conference and keep those affected or their relatives from speaking to the media, while sending officials to monitor and communicate with the families.
Covid-19 brought new challenges for emergency response management and showed the need to revise the 2007 law, Yue Zhongming, then-spokesman of the NPC Legislative Affairs Commission, said in December 2021.
