Hong Hu, governor of Jilin Province, issued an official apology for the tragic fire accident on February 15 that killed 53 people in the city of Jilin in the northeast China province.

To residents of the province, especially those who lost their loved ones and are still reeling from sorrow, such deep concern and sincerity from their top leader should be a great consolation.

An open apology from such a high-ranking government official is rare, if not unprecedented, in China's history.

The apology demonstrates the provincial government's courage in squarely facing the disaster and taking due responsibility, as well as a determination to take tough action to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

It also shows the government's willingness to put its work under stricter public scrutiny.

More importantly, the apology is evidence that our government officials are in fact servants of the people, and not flying high above them. This ideal, long treasured and pursued by the government and the Communist Party of China, has been given heavier underlining through repeated appeals and exemplary acts of the new generation of the central government.

So the apology from the governor is not accidental. It attests to a much improved administrative style.

In cases of negligence in work, an open apology from relevant officials and an expression to shoulder the responsibility will not dampen the government's authorities or tint their image, but rather will win them deeper trust and support from the public.

It is justifiable to expect that Governor Hong Hu's apology is a prelude to a massive campaign to conduct a thorough check on safety work throughout the province.

As an old Chinese fable goes: It is never too late to mend the fence after the sheep is lost.

Indeed, the tragic accident exposed many problems concerning the safety issue.

The department store's warehouse, where the fire started, did not meet the basic requirements for fire prevention. There were no fire extinguishers available when the blaze broke out.

The management on such an important site as a warehouse was shockingly lax. An outsider, a relative of the warehouse keeper, was even allowed to smoke cigarettes in it -- which was later identified as the source of the fire.

And the staff's knowledge on how to deal with a fire emergency proved shockingly poor. They failed to immediately report to the fire station, instead trying to extinguish the flames themselves. It was a passer-by who called the fire brigade almost half an hour later. The delay increased the casualties.

It should not be a groundless assertion that the Jilin department store is not unique in harboring so many loopholes constituting a great threat to safety. Two other recent fatal accidents in Miyun District of Beijing and Haining of east China's Zhejiang Province, which claimed 37 and 40 lives respectively, bear sobering proof.

The most that can be taken from the series of tragedies is to use the chances to strengthen management on security and to increase the general public's awareness in dealing with emergencies.

We cannot bring the dead back to life. But intensified attention from the authorities and enhanced public awareness on safety procedures can serve as a fitting memorial to those who perished.

(China Daily February 23, 2004)