Party elite in Henan censured for land grab
Beijing slams provincial government and gets tough on errant local officials
Two high-ranking party censure officials from Henan province have been disciplined over irregularities in the acquisition and use of land in the provincial capital, Zhengzhou .
The Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection gave a serious warning yesterday to former Henan vice-governor Li Xinmin and former Zhengzhou mayor Wang Wenchao for illegally approving a large land redevelopment project that was launched in 2003.
Mr Wang is Zhengzhou's party chief and Mr Li is secretary of the provincial party's political and judiciary committee. Both men are members of the provincial People's Congress Standing Committee.
The revelation comes just days after Shanghai party boss Chen Liangyu was sacked over a social security fund scandal.
It also coincided with a meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, in which the Henan provincial government was censured over the vast irregularities. The State Council ordered the provincial government to further discipline those responsible.
Mr Li and Mr Wang are believed to be the highest-ranking officials to be reprimanded over land scandals since the central government launched a flurry of initiatives to cool down the red-hot property market last year.
The State Council drew up an eight-point initiative in March last year as public discontent grew over soaring housing prices and a property bubble loomed large.
To further cool the overheating housing market, the central government announced another six measures in May this year, promising to hold local authorities accountable for manipulating property prices.
But the efforts have so far failed to have much impact on the sector, with many local governments continuing to put local interests first and, in some cases, colluding with developers to illegally seize farmland and drive up prices.
Citing the State Council, Xinhua said that between 2003 and this year, the Zhengzhou government authorised the seizure of nearly 1,000 hectares of farmland for the construction of a university zone in the provincial capital.
The local government did not call a halt to the project even after an investigation team sent by the Ministry of Land Resources ordered it to stop work last year.
The pair have escaped demotion or harsher punishment for the time being. But the move still represents another assault on wayward regional authorities by the central government, which is increasingly facing resistance from local authorities in its efforts to ensure the implementation of its macroeconomic policies.
Apart from the downfall of the Shanghai party boss, the State Council had also punished three senior Inner Mongolian officials last month for building a power station without Beijing's approval.
