China is considering revisions to the 1984 Maritime Traffic Safety Law to prioritize searches for survivors over searches for property.

The Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council announced Tuesday it is soliciting public opinions on revisions.

The draft states that it is the right of the people in distress at sea to be rescued without charge, adding that life should come before the environment and assets.

Passengers have the right to be informed of developments during maritime accidents when vessels are in distress, and are obliged to obey the instructions of the captain, the draft reads.

The captain should organize evacuation and be the last to leave the vessel if it is to be abandoned.

The State Council and local governments should set up maritime search and rescue centers, if needed, to organize, coordinate and command rescue operations.

In addition to professional maritime rescue teams established by the government, civilian groups are also encouraged to set up rescue teams and participate in operations.

Crews of vessels and maritime facilities are forbidden from concealing, delaying or falsifying reports on maritime accidents.

According to the white paper “Development of China’s Transport,” an efficient safety regime and maritime emergency aid system has been established in China.

The white paper, released in December, said the nation has improved its maritime search and rescue capability and increased the number of volunteers.

China’s State Council has published a medium and long-term plan to prevent and treat chronic diseases in the next five to 10 years.

The plan, made public on Tuesday, aims to improve people’s health, lower the onset risks of high-risk populations, and improve the patient quality of life.

The plan made lowering the premature mortality of major chronic diseases a core target, saying that by 2020 and 2025 the premature mortality rate of cardiovascular disease, as well as cancer and chronic respiratory diseases among the groups aged between 30 and 70 will drop by 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively, compared with 2015.

The plan put forward eight areas to be improved, including health education, standard diagnosis and treatment, health insurance and aid policies.

China has extended penalty restrictions against people who default on their court orders, keeping them from traveling by plane, applying for loans and credit cards, or getting promoted.

“There has been 6.73 million defaulters on the Supreme People’s Court’s (SPC) blacklist,” said Meng Xiang, chief of the SPC’s enforcement bureau.

So far, 6.15 million people who defaulted have been restricted from purchasing plane tickets and 2.22 million barred from travelling by high-speed train, which are usually more expensive.

The SPC has cooperated with airlines and railway companies from December last year to bar those who default from purchasing tickets, based on ID card information and their passports, according to Meng.

Previously, the ban was only based on ID card numbers, and many bought tickets with their passports to circumvent the ban.

“In addition, the SPC signed memos with 44 units including the National Development and Reform Commission to share information of defaulters in order to extend penalty restrictions,” Meng said.

Altogether 71,000 people who defaulted have been restricted from serving as corporate representatives and executives, according to SPC figures.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a major commercial bank, has rejected more than 550,000 loan and credit card applications from people who have defaulted.

“The courts include government staff, members of local legislative and political advisory bodies, and Communist Party of China congress delegates on its blacklist, with some receiving punishment including expulsion and demotion,” Meng said, without disclosing exact figures.

The deterrent is effective, and nearly 1 million defaulters have voluntarily fulfilled their court orders.

The State Council has sent teams to inspect why some migrant workers are experiencing delays in wage payment, according to a news release on Monday night.

Inspections will focus on the construction sector, especially those involved in government-invested projects, and urge full payment for migrant workers each month.

Malicious delays will be investigated and punished while channels for migrant workers’ complaints should be opened, such as portal websites and the “12333” hotline.

These teams also will check out the progress of establishing a long-term mechanism to comprehensively tackle delayed wages, with a focus on establishing a blacklist of violators with full public disclosure.

Provincial-level governments are required to take full charge while city and county governments carry out specific measures to ensure punctual payments for migrant workers.

The government should put forward a long-term solution to protect the rights of migrant workers and ensure they are paid on time, Premier Li Keqiang told a State Council executive meeting on Feb 3. It’s a significant part of the government’s proactive employment policy, he added.

Wage delays have often been burdening China’s 280 million migrant workers who travel from rural areas to cities for better-paid opportunities.

In late January, a 47-year-old farmer Gan Yongrong complained about wage delays to the premier during his visit to Ludian county in Southwest China’s Yunnan province. Gan’s earned wages of 50,000 yuan ($7,352) had been delayed for two years.

“This is the responsibility of companies and the government. Legal rights of migrant workers must be protected,” the premier told local officials on site.

Eight people have been confirmed dead and three are missing after a blast hit a coal mine in central China’s Hunan province on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at 1.37 am at the Zubao mine in Lianyuan, located 190 kilometres from the province capital Changsha, local authorities said.

A total of 29 people were working underground when the incident took place, with 18 people rescued, according to a statement from China’s national safety regulator, the State Administration of Work Safety.

One person is injured and three people remained unaccounted for, Yang Guangrong the vice governor of Hunan who headed the rescue work said.

The cause of the blast has not been identified but the site is considered a “high gas mine”.

The mine is owned by Tengfei Coal Mine Co. Ltd in Doulishan township in Lianyuan.