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 (吴显国), who was once a member of Hebei's provincial party committee and party secretary of Shijiazhuang (石家庄), 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 (省委省政府农村工作领导小组副组长).

The meeting was also attended by one of the deputy party leaders of Hebei Province Zhao Yong (赵勇), 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 (对三鹿牌奶粉事件负有领导责任). Because Wu failed to handle it properly (处置不力) and failed to report the incident in a timely manner (对事件未及时上报), he was held to be directly responsible (负有直接责任).

Li Changjiang (李长江), 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 (张庆黎) 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 (孙咸泽), 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: 原石家庄书记吴显国复出任新职 曾因三鹿被免
Caixin: 吴显国复出 曾因三鹿奶粉事件被免职
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?