1310 Dead... Purge of Hubei Officials Sparks 'Bloodstorm' (Comprehensive)

[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 are concentrated.

On the 13th, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that Jiang Chaoliang, the Party Secretary of Hubei Province, was dismissed. Ying Yong (61, photo), known as a close aide to Chinese President Xi Jinping, was appointed to the position. Ying Yong was born in November 1957 in Zhejiang Province.

After studying at the China University of Political Science and Law, he started as a low-level police officer in Zhejiang Province but rose to become Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau, then served as Director of the Discipline Inspection Commission and President of the High People's Court, advancing steadily. After moving to Shanghai, he held key positions such as President of the Shanghai High People's Court and Head of the Party Organization Department, then became Vice Mayor in September 2016 and Mayor in January 2017.

Ying Yong is considered one of President Xi's closest aides, having been brought along when Xi moved from Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province to Party Secretary of Shanghai in March 2007.

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

The Chinese government has not provided specific reasons for the replacement, but since confirmed cases and deaths were concentrated in Hubei Province and there has been heavy criticism of the initial response failure, it is interpreted as a measure to dismiss those responsible. Chinese citizens have expressed anger on social media, accusing the Hubei provincial government of concealing information during the initial outbreak, which led to failure in containing the virus early on.

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, was also replaced. Ma Guochang, Party Secretary of Wuhan City, was dismissed, and Wang Zhonglin, Party Secretary of Jinan City in Shandong Province, was appointed in his place. The replacement of Wuhan's official was predicted by the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) citing sources after Xinhua's report on the Hubei leadership change.

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 was 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.

The central leadership team dispatched to Wuhan summoned and reprimanded three officials, including the Vice Mayor of Wuhan.

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 cases and 242 new deaths were reported in one day. The sharp increase in new confirmed cases and deaths in a single 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 almost certainly infected. The number of deaths added in one day increased about 2.5 times compared to the previous day's 94, and the number of confirmed cases increased nearly 10 times compared to the previous day's 1,638.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.