The State Council issued a circular concerning the problematic cable incident in Xi’an, after deciding to hold accountable the people in charge, with the goal of cracking down on illegal crimes and strengthening supervision.

The circular was released after a report by a special inspection team was heard. The team was formed by the State Council to probe the case, which was exposed in March.

The inspection found that Xi’an Subway Line No 3 construction project procured substandard cables from Shaanxi Aokai Cable Co from 2014 to 2016. It was an issue of illegally producing, selling and purchasing shoddy products without due supervision, posing safety hazards to the public and hampering the accountability of local government.

These issues revealed related departments’ lack of understanding of safety issues, inadequate efforts in implementing the reform of administration streamlining, and ineffective coordinated supervision in law enforcement and project construction, according to the circular.

The State Council ordered the provincial government of Shaanxi to submit a written self-examination on its negligence of duty, held accountable 122 responsible officials at local government departments and ordered the municipal public security bureau of Xi’an to arrest eight people from the production enterprise.

Meanwhile, all compulsory certification and quality management system certification of Aokai Cable Co, as well as its business licenses and industrial production permit, will be revoked.