If investors fail to comply, they will be removed from their posts and punished in accordance with laws and Party rules.

The country's production safety officials have admitted corrupt officials who have invested in local coal mining are the black sheep that provide shelter for owners of the many accident-prone coal mines that operate illegally and often cause mass casualties.

But media reports suggest few such officials have come forward to confess their illegal involvement in coal mining, which comes as no surprise.

They did not confess their crimes in the past and so are unlikely to do so now.

The punishments outlined in the document are severe, but not significantly harsher than those stipulated in relevant laws, regulations and Party rules for officials who invest - personally or through their cronies - in private businesses. Such investments have long been banned.

Investing in coal mining can bring in huge profits. Barring a major accident, they are unlikely to be exposed.

Weighing the pros and cons, they may choose to weather the storm and not give in to the calls for surrender, hoping they can continue to gain once the national campaign comes to an end.

Another possibility is they may withdraw their money secretly or register their investment under an assumed name to avoid punishment.

Either way, officials that have illegally pumped funds into mines which they are supposed to be keeping safe are putting policy-makers into an embarrassing situation.

The authority of the law has been directly challenged as the allegedly corrupt officials have failed to toe the line.

Now the regulators have to answer to the public and declare what they will do next.

Investment by officials in private businesses has been forbidden for many years, but a large number have broken the rule without being caught. The state of the coal mining sector testifies to this fact.

The public is justified to doubt whether regulators can straighten out the matter at all.

The central authorities will predictably encounter protectionism if they seriously investigate local mining-related corruption cases.

But the central regulators and law-enforcers most probably cannot retreat now they have announced their pledge to urge corrupt officials to turn themselves in. Whether they keep their promise will have a great impact on public confidence in the government.