Everybody loves a good termination

By Wang Jingqiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-30 08:10

It was not a festival yesterday but people in Daoxian county of Hunan province were in a carnival mood.

They carried banners, performed dragon dances and set off fireworks - all to celebrate the fall of the county's top official.

Yi Guangming, 53, Party secretary of the county with a population of 720,000 since 1994, was removed from his post for "seriously violating Party discipline".

Yi is "still being held under investigation and it will take some time to release more information on the case", the provincial disciplinary committee of the Party said on Sunday.

Yi's name has already been removed from the list of officials on Daoxian county's website, which includes deputy party secretary and other committee members.

"We don't have a Party secretary now," an official from the county government told China Daily when asked to confirm the case.

Local residents have been celebrating that removal by setting off fireworks, performing dragon dances and carrying banners reading "thank the provincial committee for removing such a corrupt official".

According to a report by Southern Weekend, Yi and more than 90 county officials had a run-in with local farmers over a turbine pump station turned hydropower dam.

In September 2003, the pump station was sold to Xiaoxiang water and electricity company of Guangdong province so the company could build a power plant on the dam. In return, the company included Yi and other officials as shareholders who could receive dividends from the company.

Yi was the biggest shareholder.

After the dam began generating electricity, farmers suffered water shortage and saw their crops whither.

Villagers said police would threaten them when they protested and asked for water. After some villagers chose to appeal to higher authorities, the Hunan provincial discipline committee in May started to investigate.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Supervision launched a website on Wednesday for people to report violations of discipline by Party members and government officials.

People can report online at www.12388.gov.cn and the government has promised to "respond to every appeal".