Nation eyes rewards for whistle-blowers of safety violations

Emergency management authorities are to offer cash rewards for “whistle-blowers” who report hidden dangers which could lead to major accidents or production safety violations, triggering the public to reflect on the whistle-blower mechanism of the country in other fields.

If the tip-offs offered by whistle-blowers at production and operations firms are verified, they could receive a cash reward from 3,000 yuan ($421) up to 300,000 yuan ($42,160). The Ministry of Emergency Management (MOEM) will also provide special rewards if their tip-offs directly avoid an accident which could have caused fatalities, according to a draft regulation by the ministry on Wednesday. The draft was released to solicit public opinion.

Besides whistle-blowers, the ministry is mulling whether it should recruit “informants” in industries such as mining, chemical plants, firework producers and metal smelters.

These insiders would help the ministry track hidden safety violations and loopholes at those enterprises on a regular basis, via special connection channels.

The establishment of a whistle-blower mechanism was firstly raised by China’s State Council in September last year in a suggestion that stated information providers would be rewarded and protected under such a mechanism.

The term “whistle-blower” has become popular in China since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Doctor Zhang Jixian, was deemed a whistleblower who was a local doctor in Wuhan was the first to report the cases of pneumonia of unknown cause before the outbreak.

China has advocated policies equivalent to a whistle-blower mechanism intended to encourage people to identify and reveal misbehaviors in their workplace, such as universities and government departments, for a long time.

However, the mechanism is not yet fully established due to the lack of protection for informers, said Zhi Zhenfeng, a legal expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

A real whistle-blower is someone with a sense of justice who cares about public interests, so a money-driven mechanism may not represent their own interests, Zhi told the Global Times on Thursday, noting an adequate mechanism which protects their own safety and interests is what really matters.

Addressing the issue of the identity of whistleblowers being exposed or subject to retaliation, the MOEM said in the draft that the legal rights of informers will be well protected.