Taiyuan officials draw lessons from April 30 explosion

On May 1, a city-wide safety work conference was held in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, to learn from the lessons of the Wednesday explosion in a residential community and implement guidelines from the national and provincial May Day holiday scheduling meetings.

The session emphasized the city's political responsibility to promote regional development and ensure public safety, with a focus on reassessing and reinforcing risk prevention measures to protect lives, property and high-quality growth.

Member of the provincial Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China and Taiyuan Party Secretary Wei Tao delivered remarks at the meeting, which was chaired by Taiyuan Deputy Party Secretary and Mayor Fan Zhaosen. Attendees included municipal leaders from the Party committee, people's congress, CPPCC, and judicial authorities.

The April 30 explosion in Xiaodian district's Fengjing Jiayuan community in Taiyuan resulted in one death, 21 injuries and two missing, official reports said. Central, provincial and municipal authorities activated emergency protocols immediately. A rescue command center was established to coordinate firefighting, evacuations and search operations.

Moving forward, under the guidance of the Ministry of Emergency Management, efforts will focus on on-site search and rescue, medical treatment for the injured, support for displaced residents, investigation into the explosion's cause, and restoring normalcy to affected communities.

The conference underscored safety work as a critical political, systemic, and public priority. City departments were urged to strictly enforce the "Three Managements and Three Imperatives" framework — ensuring industry, business, and production safety responsibilities are fully upheld. Authorities called for tighter interdepartmental coordination, enhanced emergency preparedness, and expanded public safety education to foster collective awareness. Additionally, public reporting channels will be broadened to encourage community involvement in identifying risks, with the goal of embedding a culture of safety across all sectors.

Amid the May Day holiday, the meeting stressed balancing holiday safety with economic stability. Measures include optimizing tourism infrastructure and urban services to accommodate increased demand, addressing bureaucratic inefficiencies to maintain social order, and ensuring a secure environment for residents and visitors. Leaders emphasized the need to eliminate the "four forms of misconduct" — formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance — to uphold public trust and create a harmonious atmosphere during the holiday period.

The conference concluded with a call to integrate these efforts into the broader vision of building a safe, stable, and prosperous Taiyuan aligned with China's modernization goals.