Duan Qin (www.chinafocus.hk): If injuries caused by one's long engagement with certain work, such as neck or wrist problems, are to be added to the new occupational disease list, the treatment of these diseases will be covered by the work injury insurance fund. If they fail to buy insurance for their employees, the employers will have to pay relevant expenses for their employees. In this way, employees don't need to pay treatment fees. Also, if the treatment is not effective and one is confirmed to have a disability, he or she can also get certain compensation. As long as the disease is within the category of occupational diseases, one is entitled to enjoy such compensation according to the severity of the disease.

Skeptical Opinions

Lin Song (Today Morning Express): If cervical vertebra injuries and similar work-caused injuries are added to the list of occupational diseases, employers will have to bear more pressure, because it means more compensation for their employees.

Hu Zhengzai (CZT Today): Whether a certain injury fits the category of occupational diseases depends on experts' confirmation based on a series of careful examination and investigation according to laws and regulations, such as the confirmation of pneumoconiosis.

We cannot simply categorize all discomfort and pains caused by long-term concentration on a certain job as occupational disease. For instance, one might have dry and aching eyes and feel dizzy after staring at computer for too long. However, these symptoms are not limited to a certain occupation. To be accurate, such symptoms should not be connected to occupational diseases, although working with computers for too long will easily result in "computer vision syndrome."

Wang Yongyi (www.chinafocus.hk): I think it's impractical to implement the revised code in short term. Neck and wrist illnesses should not be defined as occupational diseases because not all these illnesses are caused by work. Those who are obsessed with online games will also have such symptoms.

In China, a lot of serious diseases caused by certain occupations are not on the occupational disease list yet. Infections among medical personnel, which are caused by contagious diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis B, are much more serious than neck and wrist illnesses. Currently, it's urgent to add serious workplace diseases on the occupational disease list, rather than those less serious diseases, such as neck or wrist problems. Light diseases can be included into the list when China is more economically developed and the overall social security system is better.

As for neck or wrist problems, apart from standard treatment, it's important for office workers to change their bad habits during work. Whether the two will be added to the occupational disease list or not, it will arouse the attention of society and office workers onto these common injuries.

Wu Dong (www.xinhuanet.com): The revised code should pay more attention to laborers working in bad and dangerous conditions. Compared with serious occupational diseases like pneumoconiosis, neck and wrist injuries are not serious enough to demand legislation. Excessive expansion of the occupational disease list will increase the number of patients. Then not only the country and employers can't afford the treatment fees, but the credibility of laws will also drop.

At present, while the government needs to do a good job in protecting laborers' rights, laborers should also increase the sense of self-protection during work. More importantly, employers should bravely take up the responsibility for occupational disease prevention and treatment by encouraging healthy working habits and corporate culture among their employees.

Lin Xiao (Qingyuan Daily): The revised occupational disease code is significant by including more diseases, but the key is to ensure the full implementation of the revised code. I suggest lawmakers pay more attention to monitoring and punishment while revising laws and regulations. Punishment should follow ineffective law implementation, and meanwhile, it's necessary to simplify the procedure of diagnosing and confirming occupational diseases. Victims of these diseases should be provided with necessary medical assistance and legal aid.

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