Recently, the Ministry of Emergency Management issued the "Notice of the Ministry of Emergency Management on Strictly Standardizing Law Enforcement Activities in Production Safety" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), aimed at addressing issues such as frequent and arbitrary safety inspections in some regions, superficial and perfunctory hazard identification efforts, lax and ineffective regulatory enforcement, and inadequate implementation of enterprise responsibilities. The Notice also seeks to continuously tackle formalism and reduce burdens on the grassroots level.

The Notice points out that, in principle, enterprises subject to key inspections shall be subject to at least one enforcement inspection per year. For issues that have drawn strong public complaints, attracted high social attention, or been highlighted by typical accidents, special inspections may be deployed in accordance with the law. The scope, content, and time limits of such special inspections shall be strictly controlled, quantity restrictions shall be implemented as required, and a special inspection plan shall be formulated and submitted for filing with the people's governments above the county level.

The Notice stipulates that, prior to conducting enforcement inspections, emergency management departments at all levels shall, through methods such as “scanning a code to enter the enterprise,” check the annual inspection records of the entities subject to enforcement. For enterprises in high-risk industries that have achieved Level 1 standardization in work safety, the cumulative number of enforcement inspections within a year shall not exceed two; for Level 2 standardization enterprises, the cumulative number shall not exceed four; and for Level 3 standardization enterprises, the cumulative number shall not exceed eight. Enterprises that have not undergone standardization rating shall be subject to a cumulative maximum of 12 enforcement inspections per year. In cases involving serious violations identified through complaints, reports, transferred or assigned cases, or data monitoring and surveillance, enforcement inspections and investigations shall be promptly and efficiently carried out in accordance with laws and regulations, without being subject to the above-mentioned frequency limits.

The “Notice” clearly stipulates that it is strictly prohibited for organizations lacking the requisite qualifications to carry out enforcement inspections. It is also strictly forbidden for third-party entities such as inspection and testing agencies and research institutes to conduct enforcement inspections; outsourcing enforcement inspections to intermediary agencies is strictly prohibited; and technical inspectors, grid workers, temporary staff, and other personnel who have not obtained administrative law enforcement credentials are strictly prohibited from conducting enforcement inspections themselves—though they may perform auxiliary tasks under the guidance of enforcement officers.

The “Notice” requires that administrative penalties be imposed strictly and precisely. It calls for implementing a system of “one-time notification, full-process tracking, and timely review,” and urges enterprises to effectively address and rectify identified problems and hazards while ensuring closed-loop management. For serious violations, measures such as “dual penalties per case,” joint punitive actions, suspension of production and business operations for rectification, and closure or revocation of licenses shall be taken in accordance with the law. In cases involving suspected criminal offenses, the matter shall be promptly referred to judicial authorities for criminal prosecution. Administrative coercive measures such as seizure and detention must be used in strict compliance with the law; arbitrary seizures and detentions are strictly prohibited, and efforts should be made to minimize any adverse impact on enterprises’ normal production and business activities.

At the same time, enterprises should be encouraged to establish and improve internal systems for self-inspection and self-correction of potential hazards. The principal person in charge of an enterprise shall designate one member of the leadership team to organize a dedicated internal safety inspection team, comprising representatives from the enterprise’s internal safety management body, the trade union, employee representatives, and registered safety engineers. This team shall conduct inspections of major accident hazards within the enterprise at least once per quarter and report the inspection results to both the principal person in charge of the enterprise and the local emergency management authority with jurisdiction. The principal person in charge of the enterprise shall participate in at least one of these inspections each year.

In addition, the Notice proposes to standardize the management and use of experts. It calls for strict supervision and management of social service agencies and industry experts engaged in work safety, regulating their daily conduct and prohibiting them from conducting independently any inspections that carry the nature of administrative law enforcement. Experts must not be allowed to exploit their involvement in guidance services or enforcement inspections to seek personal gain. Furthermore, expert opinions and recommendations must not be used directly in place of administrative decisions. Overall, we must strengthen comprehensive management throughout the entire process of expert technical services.