Several ministry-level departments, including those for education and market regulation, have responded recently to issues of public concern.

Ministry urges checks on school bus safety

The Ministry of Education has urged schools to step up safety checks of school buses before the start of the new semester.

Local education authorities should step up safety management of school buses and ensure relevant regulations are well implemented, the ministry said in a notice issued on Thursday.

The ministry also urged better training for drivers of school buses in terms of safety awareness and emergency management. Middle school students should take part in at least one session of safety education and evacuation drills, the ministry said.

The notice also called on parents to remind their children to be quiet and well behaved on school buses to ensure safety.

It also warned of the risks faced by students taking unlicensed school buses and encouraged public whistle-blowing on illegal school buses.

Food firms told to step up pork management

Chinese authorities have urged food companies to step up their management of pork to guard against African swine fever after media reports of suspected contaminated dumplings.

The State Administration for Market Regulation said on its microblog that the administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs had sent a joint work group to investigate a case in which dumplings were found to contain pork contaminated with African swine fever.

The administration said it has urged the food company to trace the source of the pork and dispose of related products.

The move followed media reports that samples from three batches of pork-filled dumplings from Sanquan Foods had tested positive for the nucleic acid associated with African swine fever.

The authorities also called for local governments to step up risk-control measures, regulate information disclosure and punish unscrupulous firms.

Campaign targets drunken drivers

The Ministry of Public Security has launched a nationwide campaign targeting those driving under the influence of alcohol.

The ministry’s traffic management bureau said in a notice issued on Feb 18 that traffic police around the country should step up traffic checks, including daily inspections on the streets, to reduce the number of traffic accidents and casualties caused by drunken driving.

Drunken driving has long been one of the major causes of traffic accidents in China. Last year, 17,264 Chinese drivers were banned from driving for life, with 5,149 of them caught drunken driving after serious traffic accidents.