'Smiling official' sacked, probed

A provincial bureau director in Shaanxi province has been dismissed from his post and is being further investigated, the local Party disciplinary watchdog said on Friday.

Yang Dacai, director of Shaanxi's Provincial Administration Bureau for Work Safety, made headlines last month when a photograph of him smiling was taken at the scene of an Aug 26 traffic accident that killed 36 people.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Communist Party of Shaanxi province on Friday announced its decision to dismiss Yang after an investigation found that he seriously violated the Party's discipline rules.

The local discipline watchdog started the investigation after the photograph showing the official smiling at the scene of the deadly crash on a highway in Yan'an, stirred public debate last month after being posted on Sina Weibo, a popular micro-blog platform.

Yang's apparent jovial mood was seen as unsympathetic and aroused wide public indignation, although he later explained that he smiled in an attempt to comfort his colleagues at the scene of the accident.

After the photo emerged, Yang then found himself targeted by Internet users, and photos of him wearing 11 different luxury wristwatches then surfaced. Although he claimed he bought the watches with his own salary, netizens argued that a public servant wouldn't be able to afford so many expensive watches.

The provincial discipline watchdog said that Yang will receive a serious punishment if any disciplinary violations are found.

Separately, Shaanxi province's financial department on Thursday declined to release Yang's personal income to the public.

Liu Yanfeng, a college student, had previously sent a request to the financial department asking for the information. The financial department said in its reply to the student that Yang's salary is not among information that can be released, according to the country's Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information.

Mo Yuchuan, a professor of administrative law at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, said that the information is not listed among the items that the government must disclose, although he said that the financial department should have responded to public speculation, since Yang's luxury watches have aroused wide concern.

Mo said that merely removing Yang from the office may not be enough, adding that he fears that he could resume his post or take a similar position in a different city after the current scandal has subsided.

Sun Xianze, former director of the food safety coordination department of the State Food and Drug Administration, who received an administrative punishment in 2008, is now a vice-minister at the country's food and drug safety watchdog.

Sun received a demerit after a tainted milk powder scandal, which killed at least six and sickened 300,000 children.

Contact the writers at malie@chinadaily.com.cn and zhaoyinan@chinadaily.com.cn.