Slack Officials Face Crackdown in SARS Crisis

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, May 08, 2003

Slack Officials Face Crackdown in SARS Crisis

More than 120 central and local government officials in China have been punished in the past month for their slack reactions in fighting SARS.

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More than 120 central and local government officials in China have been punished in the past month for their slack reactions in fighting SARS.

This disciplinary action covered 15 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, or nearly half of China's administrative regions, including Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, and Zhejiang.

"This is the first time China has penalized such a wide range of officials who are derelict in their duties in an unexpected calamity," said an official with the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, who declinedto be named.

"The punishment decisions, taken as practical measures by China's new generation leadership to improve the government work style, have been applauded by Chinese people and well received by all both domestic and world opinion," said the official.

Many of those punished were dismissed from their jobs and some were suspended from their duties, given disciplinary warnings, demoted or notified with a public criticism.

As well as the charge of inefficient organization in preventingand treating severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), penalties were also meted out for deserting posts without permission, delaying or concealing or failing to report SARS cases.

Those who were dismissed included high-ranking officials, such as former Minister of Health Zhang Wenkang and former Mayor of Beijing Meng Xuenong.

Wang Tianqin, former vice-secretary of the Zhuozhou City Committee of the CPC in north China's Hebei Province, was shocked when she was notified that she had been sacked. "I almost fainted," she recalled.

In early April, a SARS patient died in Zhuozhou due to delays and negligence in treatment. Three people accompanying the patientalso contracted the disease.

Wang was dismissed for her ineffectual delegation of work against SARS. However, leaders of the city committee had not been appointed direct responsibilities for similar situations in the past.

The unexpected outbreak of SARS was met with sluggish and perfunctory reactions by some officials.

"The longer I stayed in my position, the less I thought of the ordinary people," said Wang Tianqin, who expressed regret for failing to ensure the proper treatment of SARS patients, whom she has finally found to be as important as her own relatives.

While visiting the front line to oversee the battle against SARS, China's top leaders also launched a radical campaign againststubborn "diseases" in public administrations.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have both urged officials to make people's health and lives a priority.

Sociologists say the government has made progress in legally specifying punishments for officials who are found to be negligentin the performance of their duties.

"The Chinese government has performed excellently in investigating the explosion of cases in the elite Qinghua and Beijing Universities as well as in dealing with the loss of navy submarine No. 361(in which 70 crew members were killed)," said Wang Tingjiu, secretary of Baoding City Committee of CPC, Hebei Province.

"Similarly, the government's severe punishment of negligent officials was also undertaken to protect people's rights and interests in their daily lives and in moments when they are hit bysudden disaster," said Wang, who himself dealt with Wang Tianqin'sremoval.

Meanwhile, Wang pointed out that the disciplinary actions wouldstrengthen the awareness of the Party's faithful representation ofthe people's interests among Chinese officials and help improve their work.

Any regional calamity could affect other areas of the world in the age of globalization, said Xu Fengxian, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, known as China's think-tank.

China's extensive punishment of officials neglecting their duties would compel other cadres to make all-out efforts to combatSARS, which, in turn, showed China's concern and responsible attitude, said Xu.

"The resolute fight against SARS has helped the Chinese government to affirm its reputation for 'serving the interests of the people', and set up an enlightened and open international image," he said.

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