Officials in Haicheng, Liaoning Dismissed for Buying spot on "Top 100 Counties" List for 22 Million NTD

(CNA, Taipei, 10th) Officials in Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, China, were recently dismissed after it was exposed that they paid 4.98 million RMB (approximately 22 million NTD) to get on a "Top 100 Counties" list.

According to recent reports from mainland Chinese media such as Jiemian News, Haicheng City in Liaoning Province spent 4.98 million RMB on consulting services from an evaluation agency for a "Top 100 Counties" list, which adjusted its ranking from 118th in objective indicator scores to 91st in comprehensive scores.

According to the reports, the CCP's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection issued a notice pointing out that the relevant issues exposed a deviation in the performance-oriented views of some localities and departments. Some were willing to spend money on虚名 (empty fame) for the sake of political achievements, seeking to be ranked higher on various lists like "Top 100 Counties" and "Top 1000 Towns," which increased the financial burden and fueled the profit-seeking behavior of list evaluation agencies.

On the 8th, Study Times, the official newspaper of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CCP, published a signed article by Xu Kunlin, Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee, disclosing Liaoning's handling of the incident. This included dismissing the responsible officials and holding them accountable, as well as conducting a comprehensive investigation and special audit into the related issues.

Furthermore, Liaoning has required all regions and departments to "uniformly not participate in any list rankings, and uniformly not allocate funds to seek higher rankings."

Information shows that at the time of the incident, the Party Secretary of Haicheng City was concurrently held by Lu Jian'yuan, Deputy Secretary of the Anshan Municipal Party Committee of Liaoning Province, who has since been transferred to be Deputy Secretary of the Huludao Municipal Party Committee of Liaoning Province. The mayor at the time, Yang Ye, has been transferred to the position of Deputy Director of the Anshan Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources. (Editing: Chou Hui-ying / Chiu Kuo-chiang) 1150610