Chinese authorities have removed the party secretary from Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. When the flood occurred in July of last year, the allegations that the city authorities announced a reduction in the number of victims were found to be true. The party secretary is known to be a close aide to President Xi Jinping.
According to local media such as the Beijing Daily on the 23rd, the Henan Provincial Standing Committee recently dismissed Zhengzhou Party Secretary Xurii and appointed An Wei as Party Secretary. Shurii is a member of the ‘Zhijiangxinjun’ and is considered a close aide to President Xi Jinping. Zhijiangxinjun refers to the personal connections of Xi during the clerk of Zhejiang Province.
China’s State Council recently released the results of its investigation into the heavy rains in Zhengzhou, which killed 390 people last year, criticizing the city’s emergency response after the disaster was inadequate. He pointed out that the number of deaths and missing persons at the time of the flood damage was not properly reported and evacuation orders were not issued in time.
In the report, the disaster investigation team of the State Council said in a report that “the casualties were deliberately hidden without daily reporting.” “Until the figures are finally released, a total of 139 people died or disappeared, including 75 at the Zhengzhou municipal level, 49 at the county level, and 15 at the township level. was found to be concealed.”
Immediately after the flood, Zhengzhou city officials said six people had been killed. Nine days later, it was announced that 97 people had been killed or missing. The next day, however, city officials announced that there were 322 people dead and missing. It more than tripled in one day. Two days later, the number was revised back to 339. Even this was not an accurate figure. According to a report by the State Council of China released on the 21st, as of September 30 last year, a total of 380 people had died or disappeared.
The central government believes that the city’s initial response has failed and that the number of deaths has been reduced and covered up to avoid liability. According to the report, city authorities did not report properly even though they knew that 12 more deaths were reported when Premier Li Keqiang visited the site in mid-August last year.
Reporter Lee Song-ryeol at Hankyung.com yisr0203@hankyung.com
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