China Punishes Over 40 Officials for Mishandling Pandemic

Nicole Hao
By Nicole Hao
August 9, 2021China News
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China Punishes Over 40 Officials for Mishandling Pandemic
A medical worker takes samples during a mass COVID-19 test in a residential block in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Aug. 3, 2021. (Getty Images)

More than 40 Chinese officials have been fired or punished over accusations they failed to respond properly to the latest surge of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, throughout the country.

Among those fired were a vice mayor, heads of city districts and health commissions, and managers and staff in hospitals, airports, and tourism departments.

China’s National Health Commission on Aug. 9 announced that 94 new cases of domestic transmission had been recorded over the previous 24 hours.

The latest outbreak is linked to the airport in the eastern city of Nanjing. The highly contagious Delta variant spread among airport workers, which was first reported on July 20, and has since advanced from tropical Hainan Province in the south to Inner Mongolia in the far north.

NTD Photo
A child is tested for COVID-19 in Nantong, in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, on Aug. 8, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Punishing Officials

To curb the outbreak, the Chinese regime launched lockdowns, quarantines, massive testing, and even banned travel in the outbreak cities. However, more new infections continued to be reported in different regions.

On Aug. 9, the regime announced that the newly diagnosed patients were from central China’s Henan and Hubei provinces, eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, and south-central Hunan Province.

As a response to the out-of-control pandemic, the Chinese regime has recently begun punishing officials.

On Aug. 8, the Yangzhou city Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that the regime has punished eight officials who failed to respond properly to the outbreak in the city. The officials include Hanjiang District Health Commission Deputy Director Jiang Wei, Hanjiang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Huang You, Hanjiang District Deputy Director Ding Mingzhe, Union Village in Guangling District’s CCP Party boss Liang Wenxiang, and four other leaders from Guangling District.

The punishments of the eight officials included public criticisms, including self-criticisms, as well as notices of their wrongdoings placed on their official resumes.

Yangzhou, in Jiangsu Province, reported 346 diagnosed COVID-19 patients from July 20 to Aug. 8.

NTD Photo
A medical worker is taking a swab sample for the COVID-19 test from an elderly resident at her home in Nantong, China, on Aug. 8, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

On Aug. 7, Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, punished 15 officials, including Deputy Mayor Hu Wanjin, Jiangning District Director Yan Yingjun, and Nanjing City Health Commission Director Fang Hongyou. Yan and Fang were dismissed from their positions, and Hu’s wrongdoing was recorded on his official resume.

Other officials that were punished in Nanjing included the CCP Party Boss of the airport Feng Jun, Nanjing City Health Commission Deputy Director Yang Dasuo, Jiang District Deputy Director Fu Jijin, and other officials from the airport and Jiangning District.

The Chinese regime announced on Aug. 9 that 231 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Nanjing in the current outbreak.

The regime claimed that a cleaning staff member of Nanjing Lukou International Airport became infected with the CCP virus when she was cleaning an airplane from Russia on July 10, and then transmitted the virus to her coworkers. The outbreak wasn’t apparent until July 20, when nine airport staff tested positive during regular COVID-19 testing. Soon after, people who had visited Nanjing airport were diagnosed in other Chinese cities.

Child reaction to COVID test
A child reacts to a throat swab during mass testing for COVID-19 in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province, on Aug. 3, 2021. (Chinatopix/via AP)

On Aug. 4, Zhangjiajie city in Hunan Province announced that the government punished 18 officials from Yongding District, People’s Hospital, and Wulingyuan District. On the same day, Yantai city in eastern China’s Shandong Province announced the dismissal of two officials who failed to control the outbreak. They are Lanshan District Director of Sun Yurong and the district leader of the Huanghai street community.

On July 31, Zhengzhou city in Henan Province announced the dismissal of two officials: Fu Guirong, the director of Zhengzhou city health commission, and Ma Shuhuan, the CCP party boss of Zhengzhou No. 6 Hospital.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times

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