Demotion for head of safety watchdog
The head of the State Administration of Work Safety has been demoted for serious disciplinary violations, the Party’s disciplinary watchdog announced today.
Yang Huanning was found to have seriously violated political discipline and rules, and deviated from the Party’s principles on major issues, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement.He also took advantage of his position to seek personal benefit, the commission said.
Yang has been given penalties including being placed on probation in the Party for two years, removal from his administrative post, and demotion to a non-leadership position at deputy departmental level.
Yang has been discharged as a delegate to the 18th CPC National Congress and his illegal gains will be confiscated.
His predecessor as head of China’s safety watchdog, Yang Dongliang, was jailed for 15 years for graft in February, wrapping up an inquiry launched after deadly blasts in 2015 that killed nearly 170 people in the city of Tianjin.
Regular mishaps, from factory fires to mine cave-ins, have increased public concern about China’s relatively lax safety standards, which the government has pledged to improve.