The chairman of Guangxi Autonomous region, Li Zhaozhuo, said yesterday his Government should not bear sole responsibility for a tin mine accident in Nandan county that killed 81 miners in July.
Mr Li, who is in Beijing for the NPC session, said some aspects of illegal mining were 'beyond the control of Guangxi', adding that there were numerous reasons for the accident.
He said the central Government had sent an investigative team to handle the case as there were some 'messy' issues the region was unable to deal with on its own.
But he declined to say if the team had been sent in due to a conflict of interest over the mining industry.
Mr Li also dismissed reports that Nandan was a lawless place run by triads and was beyond the Government's control.
He said that 'mainly county officials' would be held responsible for the accident, but authorities were finalising the list. Some had already been charged. But he indicated no senior officials would be held accountable.