Vice premier stresses safety of self-built residential structures

BEIJING -- Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He has called for efforts to thoroughly investigate and quickly resolve the hidden dangers of self-built residential structures.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Work Safety Committee of the State Council, made the comments on Saturday while attending a national video teleconference on the special campaign for the safety of self-built residential structures.

Lessons should be learnt from the collapse of a self-built residential structure in Hunan province, while a nationwide special campaign will be launched to ensure the safety of such self-built buildings and ward off major and severe accidents, according to the meeting.

It stressed prioritizing the lives and well-being of people, urging efforts to thoroughly probe the cause of the accident and hold those accountable according to law.

The meeting also demanded all-out efforts in carrying out the special campaign on self-built residential structures, especially those concerning public safety. The country will severely crack down on irregularities affecting building safety and establish long-term mechanisms to tighten the supervision of relevant parties, it said.

State Councilor Wang Yong, also vice head of the Work Safety Committee, presided over the conference. Zhao Kezhi, state councilor and vice head of the committee, attended the meeting.

A total of 53 people were confirmed killed in the collapse of a self-built residential structure in Hunan province on April 29. Ten people were rescued from the rubble. China has established an investigation team to look into the incident.