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Xinhua: China Urges Stronger Safety Measures After Shanghai Stampede


People bow during a memorial ceremony for people who were killed in a stampede incident during a New Year's celebration on the Bund, in Shanghai, Jan. 2, 2015.
People bow during a memorial ceremony for people who were killed in a stampede incident during a New Year's celebration on the Bund, in Shanghai, Jan. 2, 2015.

China's vice premier has urged authorities to strengthen safety measures after a New Year's Eve stampede in Shanghai in which 36 people were killed, state news agency Xinhua reported.

China's response to the tragedy has drawn global attention, with critics saying it could hamper Shanghai's ambition to become a world financial center by 2020.

Vice Premier Wang Yang said on Monday authorities and tourism boards across China should identify risks, improve safety measures and step up emergency response systems, Xinhua reported.

He said during an inter-ministerial meeting on tourism that authorities should learn from the disaster - the worst to hit Shanghai since 2010 - and be aware of their responsibilities for public safety during the upcoming Spring Festival and Lantern Festival holidays across China.

“More effort must be made to regulate the tourism market so we can ensure travelers' safety,” Wang said. Tourism helps boost domestic demand, stabilize growth, create jobs and improve livelihoods, he said.

Wang's response came after Shanghai, China's cosmopolitan financial center, canceled a two-decade old lantern festival held at its central Yu Garden over safety concerns sparked by the stampede.

Police are investigating the cause of the stampede.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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