Chinese city boss removed from provincial role after summer’s devastating floods
- Xu Liyi, Zhengzhou’s party chief, has been removed from the top decision-making body in Henan province
- The change has not been officially linked to the floods, which killed at least 292 people in the city and prompted an investigation into the disaster response
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Xu remains in post as Zhengzhou party chief and a member of the 93-member provincial party committee.
Lou Yangsheng, the provincial party chief, told the party congress on Friday that some cadres had not been selected in the new round of provincial party appointments because of “age and work needs”, according to the official Henan Daily newspaper.
“During their tenure, they devoted a lot of effort and made important contributions to the development of Henan and building the party. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to them,” Lou said.
Catastrophic flooding hit Henan province in July, killing at least 302 people, including 292 in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital.
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The State Council, China’s cabinet, set up a task force to investigate the disaster in early August but has yet to announce its findings.
State news agency Xinhua said the investigation would include a comprehensive evaluation of the disaster response process and officials found to have failed to carry out their duties properly would be held accountable.
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Xu, 57, was made the city’s party chief and appointed to the standing committee in 2019. He had previously been based in the eastern province of Zhejiang, including a spell as mayor of Hangzhou.
He was last seen addressing the Zhengzhou delegation at the provincial party congress on Tuesday, according to the city government’s website.
He highlighted the city’s development plan but also called for an all-out effort to carry out reconstruction work after the floods and improve the defences against natural disaster.
