When off

Author: Li Jianzhuang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-10-01
Features: With a deafening explosion, a major water inrush accident occurred in an illegal small coal mine in Yuchuan City, causing dozens of casualties. Communist Party of China Yuchuan City Discipline Inspection Commission cadres Wang Yuyang, Chen Shujin, and others went deep into the mining area to investigate the cause of the accident. During the investigation, they overcame numerous obstacles, disregarded personal safety, and after several twists and turns, fought their way through, finally exposing the corruption "behind the derrick" and bringing corrupt officials in leadership positions to justice. This work is based on a true story, deeply moving, with a twisting plot and vivid characters; it is an excellent piece with strong realism. Excerpt: Wang Yuyang never expected that his occasional visit to the mining area would become the center of a thrilling confrontation, let alone meeting Lin Fengqiu here again. At first, it was just to help a friend. Chen Shujin, an old subordinate, had been responsible for the accident investigation in the Yuchuan City Discipline Inspection Commission for several years. The commission asked him to write a summary of his experience, but his two drafts were not approved. He then brought Wang Yuyang to the mining area. In recent years, most industrial accidents in Yuchuan City have occurred in small coal mines. Wang Yuyang had long heard that workers in small coal mines faced harsh working conditions, with gas explosions and water inrush accidents claiming the lives of over 300 workers each year—just the official statistics, the actual death toll was likely even higher! After making fortunes, the small mine owners indulged in luxury but refused to invest in safety facilities. However, he had no idea what the mining area was really like. He thought it might be a good idea to go take a look, after all, Yuchuan City had prospered due to coal, and in recent years, thousands of small coal mines had been hastily built, holding countless stories within them. As he listened to Chen Shujin describe the various conditions in the mining area, he was initially surprised, then indignant, and finally fumed with rage! He listened to Chen Shujin ramble on about the issues, venting his frustrations about how to solve them, who to arrest, which units to inspect, and which links to control. Only when Chen Shujin said, "This is getting us worked up again! Have you forgotten the hardships we endured a few years ago?" did Wang Yuyang stop smiling, realizing he was powerless and sighed deeply. Wang Yuyang had been retired for three years. A major case that began in 1988 took several twists and turns before concluding in 1993, toppling the former mayor of Yuchuan City, Chen Qiangxiang. Although the final showdown was led by the provincial discipline inspection commission, everyone knew Wang Yuyang played a key role. Soon after, he lost his substantive position in a relatively mild atmosphere, becoming a deputy section chief in charge of departmental work instead of a deputy-level discipline inspection official. His rank remained unchanged, but his daily tasks were much fewer. Occasionally, he was given dull assignments that could be completed in no time. Thus, he spent three years in a kind of utopia, reading books. Chen Shujin asked him for help, partly because he was bored and wanted to go places, and partly because Chen Qiangxiang's case had affected Chen Shujin as well. How could Wang Yuyang refuse to help? Wang Yuyang drove his car to the main shaft of the state-owned Wuqiao Mine and parked there. The two got out and climbed the high derrick platform, overlooking the surroundings. They saw small coal mine derricks scattered across the undulating mountains, at least three hundred of them, forming an ironclad encirclement around Wuqiao Mine. Some small coal mine derricks were even built right next to Wuqiao Mine's auxiliary shaft, as if daring to compete for a share of the pie. The small coal mines had a bustling flow of trucks, constantly leaving the coal piles, bumping along uneven roads. Meanwhile, Wuqiao Mine's towering coal piles were neglected, the dedicated railway for coal transport lay dormant, and the rust on the tracks had grown so thick it was almost old. "Does the price play a role here?" Wang Yuyang pointed to the distant coal transport vehicles. "Of course! The coal price of this big mine has dropped by ten yuan recently, selling at 130 yuan per ton. But how much do small coal mines charge per ton? Eighty-five!" Chen Shujin sighed, "If this continues for a few more years, this big mine will be bankrupt!" "How can the price difference be so large? Big mines can't avoid having some idle workers, and their mechanization level is always high, with strong production capacity!" "You don't understand. In coal mining, safety investment is crucial! The density, quality, and various monitoring instruments underground all cost money. Small coal mines don't even install such things. More importantly, the most critical aspect of coal production safety is ventilation, which requires dedicated ventilation shafts. Building a dedicated ventilation shaft for a small coal mine costs 400,000 to 500,000 yuan, plus other safety facilities, totaling 800,000 to 900,000 yuan. But do you know how much compensation is paid for each worker's death? Only 4,000 to 5,000 yuan! A shift has no more than twenty workers, and if they all die, the compensation is only 100,000 yuan. So, no small mine owner builds a dedicated ventilation shaft!" "Then why not crackdown on them? What are the coal management departments for?" Chen Shujin laughed, "Didn't your uncle Qin Gang, the county coal management director, tell you? Almost half of the small coal mines have shares from party and government leaders. Who would dare to manage them?" "It's not possible for half of them to have shares from leaders!" "I told you it's good for you to come to the mining area. You don't need to conduct an in-depth investigation. Just look up, and you'll see what corruption looks like. Let me point it out. This mine belongs to an alternate secretary of the township party committee, the one next to it is a reporter from the provincial newspaper, and the one on the hill is owned by a bureau-level official from Beijing. See that sign? 'Military Coal Mine.' As for these several over here, I won't tell you who they belong to, but they are all famous figures in our city! Every year, mining reforms are carried out, and all mines that don't meet safety standards are supposed to be filled in. None of these mines meet the standards, but the reform personnel are afraid to come near them! If we fill in these mines, the people who run them will file complaints, so every year, the reforms are just a formality!" Wang Yuyang gritted his teeth in anger. Chen Shujin, seeing his furious expression, said, "Look, look! You can't manage them, but you grind your teeth '' loud. Can't you tell me anything else? Oh, what's wrong?" Nearby, about one or two hundred workers, armed with sticks, had gathered and boarded several trucks, which then sped away. Chen Shujin asked a worker nearby what was happening. The worker replied irritably, "What's happening! Three small coal mines are illegally mining in our mine's fourth district. We tried stopping them, but they wouldn't listen, so we had to resort to force." "This has turned into a violent confrontation!" "A little blood is better than losing lives! The fourth district is a high-risk area for water inrush in our mine. We have over a hundred workers there, and if there's a water inrush, they'll all drown!" Wang Yuyang couldn't help asking, "Then why didn't you make everyone evacuate? Can't you just watch it happen?" "Ah! We have over four hundred illegally mining small coal mines around our mine. If we keep trying to avoid them, our mine would have closed long ago!" The worker shook his head and left. Wang Yuyang watched the vehicles bumping along in the dust, as if dragons, for a long time.