Photo: Wu Xianguo
Source: QQ News
January 21, 2013
Translated by Pang Lei
An official who was removed from his position in 2008 for his role in the Sanlu milk powder scandal that killed six infants and sickened an estimated 300,000, has been appointed to a new position.
Yesterday's Oriental Morning Post carried an article stating that Wu Xianguo (吳顯國), who was once a member of Hebei's provincial party committee and party secretary of Shijiazhuang (石家莊), a city about 300 kilometers southwest of Beijing, appeared at an official event on Jan 17. Shijiazhuang was the headquarters of the Sanlu Group which was for a long time the city's largest taxpayer.
The official Hebei Daily recently reported that Wu had attended a meeting about supporting poor areas in the regions surrounding Beijing in his capacity as one of the deputy heads of a new "leading work group" that the Hebei provincial party committee and government established in relation to rural issues (省委省政府農村工作領導小組副組長).
The meeting was also attended by one of the deputy party leaders of Hebei Province Zhao Yong (趙勇), who is also the head of the same rural issues leading work group.
According to a report posted to Caixin's website on Saturday, Hebei Daily also reported on Jan 10 that Wu Xianguo was one of the individuals who travelled to poor village areas of Hebei province in early January following a visit from the newly-appointed General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping to the area in late 2012. That earlier report did not mention Wu's position.
The Caixin report also noted that in 2008 the State Council and the central party organs removed the now 56-year-old Wu from his positions because he was found to be the city leader responsible for the incident (對三鹿牌奶粉事件負有領導責任). Because Wu failed to handle it properly (處置不力) and failed to report the incident in a timely manner (對事件未及時上報), he was held to be directly responsible (負有直接責任).
Li Changjiang (李長江), the former director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, also stood down from his position in the aftermath of the Sanlu affair.
Since being removed from their positions, both of these officials have reappeared in other capacities.
In December 2009, it was reported that Li Changjiang was serving as the deputy head of a national leading work group assigned to fight against pornography and other illegal publications.
In November 2011, Wu Xianguo was reported to have attended Hebei's Party Congress.
The current Party Secretary of Hebei Zhang Qingli (張慶黎) has come out in defense of the officials, saying that "it's already been many years since the Sanlu incident occurred. Some comrades received punishments and lost points, To arrange work for them now is normal."
In September last year, it was revealed that Sun Xianze (孫咸澤), another official punished as a result of an investigation into the Sanlu affair, had been promoted to deputy president of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).
A total of 21 Sanlu executives and middlemen were tried and sentenced in January 2009 for their involvement in the case. Two of them were executed. Tian Wenhua, the former chairwoman of the Sanlu Group, received a life sentence for her role in the affair.
Links and Sources
Oriental Morning Post: 原石家莊書記吳顯國復出任新職 曾因三鹿被免
Caixin: 吳顯國復出 曾因三鹿奶粉事件被免職
Economic Observer Online: Official Punished for Sanlu Milk Scandal Promoted
Caijing: The Sanlu Trial: Diary of a Dairy Disaster
Caijing: Who lost their post in connection with the scandal?
