China is widely regarded as having the worst record in coal mine safety globally, with accidents and deaths a regular occurrence. The new restrictions would apply to coverage of natural disasters, riots, strikes, health crises and coal mine accidents.
The draft law, which has been sent to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, marked a further tightening of controls on the media in a country already subject to censorship by the Communist Party's national, provincial and municipal propaganda departments, Washington Post Foreign Service reported.
The news agency said Chinese journalists lamented what they saw as another sign among many that President Hu Jintao's government is curbing what had been a slight liberalisation of press freedoms in recent years.
