Lessons from building collapse tragedy

A recent report on the probe of the collapse of a building in Wangcheng district, Changsha city, Hunan province, in April 2022 that resulted in the loss of 54 lives has again shed light on the necessity to strengthen inspection of building quality nationwide.

The aforementioned building, which was constructed with no qualified design or the involvement of professional builders, had serious structural and construction risks. Yet somehow it managed to survive successive inspections with only verbal warnings given until after the sixth inspection. It was only after the sixth inspection the owner was summoned by the local law enforcement department and issued with a rectification order, but that failed to prevent the tragedy from happening.

These revelations have highlighted the shortcomings in the oversight of local governance. The documentary's disclosure of the details has shown a systematic failure in local security governance at the grassroots level. Neglect and evasion of relevant security risks, inadequate risk investigation and prevention by the main responsible unit, and lax law enforcement allowed the safety risks to accumulate. The case exposes the lack of safety responsibility awareness among the local officials. Additionally, the failure of multiple departments with regulatory responsibilities to collaborate effectively rendered the top-down safety system ineffective.

People's safety cannot be neglected or undermined at any level of governance. Safety inspections and the enforcement of rectification requirements should be conducted by individuals with professional knowledge.

BEIJING NEWS