A Party official in east China's Anhui Province has been removed from office
after absenting himself from the fight against floods, sources with
the local government said Sunday.
Zhang Yunbin, former Party secretary of Zhenxing Village, Runhe
Township of Yingshang County, was deprived of his post, after
county discipline officials found him "not directing work at the
flood front," an official with the county discipline inspection
committee said.
On Thursday night, discipline officials went to the village,
where they saw the village deputy Party secretary directing farmers
to stack sand bags to prevent flooding. Zhang was absent and his
cell phone was turned off.
"Zhang left his station at a crucial time, and this had a very
negative impact on the on-going flood prevention work," the
discipline official said.
"Failing responsibility during floods is like touching a
high-voltage electricity wire. Officials that commit any illegal
activities or behave poorly must be immediately and severely
punished," he added.
He did not elaborate on what Zhang was doing at the time.
Anhui is still facing immediate flood threats, as torrential
rain in central Henan Province, in the upper reaches of the river,
continues to push the third flood peak of the year towards
Wangjiaba, a crucial hydrological station in Anhui, the local
drought prevention and flood control office said.
In order to ease pressure on the swelling Huaihe River, the
sluices at Wangjiaba were opened last Tuesday to divert waters to a
buffer zone that is home to 150,000 people.
(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2007)