New top Party official named for city

Party authorities in Southwest China's Sichuan province have named a new top Party official for the city of Shifang after a massive protest against a planned heavy metal manufacturing plant.

The Deyang committee of the Communist Party of China decided to send Zuo Zheng, a member of its standing committee, to Shifang, a city under Deyang's administration, to serve as its top Party official, according to a statement released late on Thursday.

Zuo, also vice-mayor of Deyang, will be the Party's first secretary in Shifang, while the current Party secretary of Shifang Li Chengjin will assist Zuo in his work, the statement said.