The deputy mayor of Fukang city in Xinjiang province has been arrested for on charges of complicity with a coal mine where a gas blast killed 83 people in July, state media reported. Liu Xiaolong was in charge of work safety at the time of the explosion at the Shenyang coal mine. China has ordered all officials to divest themselves of coal sector investments to prevent conflicts of interest as part of a campaign to upgrade coal mine safety. Mining accidents have caused 2,700 deaths in the first half of 2005 and 6,000 in 2004.
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