The fire at a Beijing Internet cafe that left 25 people dead was a great tragedy, and so are the many recent deaths from mine explosions, floods, air crashes and car accidents.

In all, about 300 people a day lose their lives in this country as a result of various accidents.

These alarming figures and the bloody accidents show a lack of concern for safety in this society, from government departments to businesses to individual citizens.

However, the order from the Beijing city government suspending operations at all Internet cafes, and the raids on Internet cafes across the country, are not the right approach to this problem.

We did not close all the mines in the wake of repeated explosions that took hundreds of lives. We did not suspend all flights after the recent crashes in Dalian and in South Korea.

Fires can occur in many different places - in karaoke bars, beauty parlours, bowling alleys, nightclubs, hotels, department stores, schools, hospitals, office buildings and parking garages.

The Beijing blaze was started deliberately by two teenagers with 1.8 litres of gas in an act of revenge against members of the cafe's staff.

So the Beijing incident should not cause the government to focus its attention on Internet cafes alone. It should keep a close and watchful eye on safety precautions in all facilities.

Who are the people responsible for making regular safety checks in these places and for issuing licences? If these establishments are illegal and operate without a licence, how is it that they have been for so long such a permanent fixture of our street corners and neighbourhoods, with nobody questioning their right to conduct business?

I do not dispute that there are tremendous difficulties involved in securing an Internet cafe licence, and that the red tape (dozens of official stamps are needed) has opened the floodgates to illegal outlets.

We usually see quick responses from certain government departments after serious accidents. But the routine checks by the watchdogs have been poor, and punishment has been too mild.

How many times, in shops, offices and even public buildings, have we seen fire doors locked, apparently for security reasons? If there is a fire, the only thing employees can do is jump from the window or pray.

How many times have we seen trucks or bikes overloaded with gas tanks, so that when they pass us, we feel frightened?

How many times have we seen doctors or dentists treat us without washing their hands or sterilizing their equipment, so that when they operate on us, we can only pray we are not the unlucky ones?

How many times when we dine on seafood do we find ourselves experiencing food poisoning?

The traffic police are out on the street every day to prevent accidents. Severe punishments are meted out to violators. So in the last few years few drivers have dared to ignore traffic lights or sound their horn at the slightest provocation.

If the food sanitation authorities, health departments and firefighting bureaux tighten their supervision and show no mercy to violators, we will see few businesses or people taking chances to violate laws and regulations. We will see less food poisoning, fewer medical infections, and fewer fires.

Hidden safety dangers are everywhere in Shanghai and the rest of the country. Unfortunately they only get the attention of some government departments when dozens or hundreds of lives are lost. And even after such tragic incidents, official interest evaporates fast.

weihua_chen@yahoo.com