China mulls law amendment to improve emergency response

BEIJING -- A draft amendment to China's Emergency Response Law was submitted to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the national legislature, on Tuesday.

The draft suggests improvements to provisions on accountability in response to emergencies, and calls for support from emergency management departments for publicity campaigns promoting emergency response knowledge.

The draft also defines further efforts in the application of modern technologies, and suggests ways to enhance research on the use of science in emergency response and in relevant core technologies, as well as measures for fostering emergency management and sci-tech personnel.

The current law on emergency response was enacted in 2007 and has played a vital role in preventing and reducing emergencies and their impact.