AWOL official booted from Party

By Lydia Chen  |   2008-11-14  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

AN official from Zhejiang Province has been kicked out of the Communist Party and removed from his post because he has refused to return to China from France. He absconded in September while on an official visit.

The decision was made as Yang Xianghong, former Party secretary of Lucheng District in Wenzhou City, "seriously violated" the Party's discipline regulations and caused a negative impact on society, the Beijing-based Legal Daily reported.

Yang departed on September 19 on a 12-day tour of Europe. He left the delegation just before the return trip on September 29, claiming he had to stay in France for medical treatment, according to the newspaper.

He then sent a resignation letter to the municipal Party committee, saying that his back pain was severe and the work pressure was too much for him to handle. The government demanded he return. Yang refused.

On October 23, the municipal government sent a representative and doctors to visit Yang in France, saying that the team would help with Yang's treatment. However, the team could only reach Yang via cell phone as he refused to meet in person.

Yang called the representative four times and stressed that his pain was serious. The 52-year-old said he would return to China after treatment, but refused to say where he was. The team returned to China empty handed on Tuesday.

Yang, who has now overstayed in France for more than 40 days, was promoted last year to be a standing member of the Wenzhou municipal Party committee, the report said.

He had surgery in 2007 because of recurring back problems, according to Xinhua news agency. Since last year, Yang has been telling colleagues that he wanted to step down because of his health, and had claimed "there were some people against him."

His overstay in France has sparked speculation that he has fled because of potential corruption charges.