Hubei Province Chief Replaced by Xi Jinping Ally... 'COVID-19 Accountability' (Update)

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] A purge of officials is sweeping through Hubei Province, China, where COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths have been concentrated.

On the 13th, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that Jiang Chaoliang, the Party Secretary of Hubei Province, was dismissed from his position. Ying Yong (61, photo), the mayor of Shanghai known as a close aide to Chinese President Xi Jinping, was appointed to the post. Born in November 1957 in Zhejiang Province, Ying Yong held positions such as Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Shanghai before being appointed Party Secretary of Hubei Province. Ying Yong is regarded as a close aide to President Xi, having been brought along when Xi moved from Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province to Party Secretary of Shanghai in March 2007.

This is a top-level official replacement following the outbreak and spread of COVID-19.

The Chinese government has not provided specific reasons for the replacement, but it is interpreted as a measure to dismiss those responsible, given that confirmed cases and deaths were concentrated in Hubei Province and there was widespread criticism of the initial response failure. Chinese citizens are expressing anger on social media, accusing the Hubei provincial government of concealing information during the early stages of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which led to a failure to contain the virus spread initially.

Within Hubei Province, the official responsible for Wuhan City, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak and the city with the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths, is also being replaced. The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing sources, reported that Ma Guochang, Party Secretary of Wuhan City, has been dismissed and Wang Zhonglin, Party Secretary of Jinan City in Shandong Province, will take over the position.

Earlier, two senior officials in Hubei Province were also dismissed. On the 11th, Jiang Jin, Party Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Health Commission, and Liu Yingzi, Director, were both removed from their posts. The vacancy will be filled by Wang Hesheng, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission of China. Last week, Deputy Director Wang was also appointed as a new Standing Committee member of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee, the highest decision-making body in Hubei Province.

So far, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in Hubei Province has reached 48,206 and 1,310, respectively. On the 12th, the Hubei Provincial Health Commission announced that 14,840 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 242 deaths were reported in Hubei Province in a single day. The sharp increase in new confirmed cases and deaths in one day is due to the addition of 13,332 clinically diagnosed confirmed cases and 135 deaths, which were not previously included in the confirmed case statistics but are presumed to be almost certainly infected. The number of deaths added in one day increased about 2.5 times compared to 94 the previous day, and the number of confirmed cases increased nearly 10 times compared to 1,638 the previous day.