The State Council has tapped Li Yizhong to take the helm as minister of the General Administration of Work Safety (GAWS), a ministry-level body newly formed as part of the government's effort to curb rampant industrial accidents.

Li moves to the slot from his position as a deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

Wang Xianzheng, Wang Dexue, Sun Huashan and Liang Jiakun were named GAWS vice ministers.

Zhao Tiechui, who headed the former State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), was named director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety. Prior to the reorganization, the two organizations were parallel operations under Zhao's leadership.

Fu Jiahua and Wang Shuhe were named Zhao's deputies.

A few days after the February 14 gas explosion at the Sunjiawan Coal Mine, which claimed 214 lives, Premier Wen Jiabao chaired a meeting on coal mine safety. The decision was made then to upgrade SAWS to a ministerial-level body with the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety as its subordinate.

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2005)