Chongqing mayor who survived China’s biggest political storm of modern times resigns

Huang Qifan, who survived a political storm in Chongqing during the tenure of former city party boss Bo Xilai, has resigned as mayor, official media reported on Friday, confirming a South China Morning Post report on Thursday.

Huang, 64, relocated to the municipality of 30 million people in 2001 as a vice mayor and has worked with six party secretaries ever since, including Bo, whose downfall was regarded as one of the most dramatic and significant political struggles in the history of the People’s Republic.

Huang once publicly described his working relations with Bo as “fish and water”.

He survived the storm partly because he was regarded as a capable manager with experience in developing Shanghai’s Pudong district as well as keeping Chongqing, which enjoys the same authority as a province, as one of the fastest growing regions in China.

Zhang Guoqing, the city’s current deputy party secretary, had been appointed acting mayor, the government-run news portal Cqnew.net reported. The personnel changes were approved by the Chongqing’s local legislature on Friday morning, the report said.

Sources said Zhang would later officially succeed Huang as the mayor.