The State Council has decided to hold strictly accountable related people in charge of the sub-quality cable construction enterprise as well as government officials who were involved in the problematic cable incident in Xi’an, which was exposed in March.

A special inspection team was formed by the State Council to probe the case, which revealed that it was a case of illegally producing, selling and purchasing shoddy products, resulting from collusion between some local government officials and the production enterprise.

The State Council ordered the provincial government of Shaanxi to submit a written self-examination on its negligence of duty, and will publish a notice of criticism of the Shaanxi government.

It also ordered the provincial government to arrest eight suspects from the production enterprise, hold accountable 122 responsible officials at local government departments in accordance with the law, and investigate 19 personnel from centrally administrated State-owned enterprises’ Shaanxi branches.

The Shaanxi government was ordered to revoke all certificates and trademark recognition from the production enterprise according to laws and rules, and revoke its business licenses and industrial production permit.

Meanwhile, local government should conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation of the construction project, remove and replace all the problematic cables as soon as possible. And a national inspection on subway cables will be conducted to eliminate any security risks and enhance product quality.

The State Council urged imposing heavier punishment on violators who manufacture substandard products that could harm people’s safety. And authorities should crack down on counterfeit conducts, eliminate unfair competition, and resolutely shut down enterprises that offend laws or regulations.

It also urged improving bidding and equipment materials procurement system, and strengthening the responsibility of enterprises as market entities and the supervisory role of government, to strictly ensure the product quality and safety.