The former Party chief of Shifang City Committee of the CPC, Li Chengjin,  has been reassigned to assist the city's newly-appointed first secretary, according to a statement released late Thursday on the city government's microblog. 

The announcement came in the wake of violent mass protests that centered on plans to construct a heavy metal refinery project.

The city has since said the project worth billions of yuan will not be built.

Zuo Zheng, a Standing Committee member of Deyang City Committee of the CPC and deputy mayor of Deyang, was appointed as first secretary of Shifang's Party committee, the statement reads.

Shifang falls under the jurisdiction of Deyang and the switch in leadership was approved by the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC.

Experts said the conclusion of this incident needs to be based on law, and a thorough investigation should be conducted. Meanwhile, local authorities' ability to respond to the public's voice should also be improved.

The project, which has been approved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, was to have a capacity of processing 40,000 tons of molybdenum and 400,000 tons of copper each year.

According to the official Weibo of the city government, all but 15 of the injured had been discharged from hospital by 8 am Wednesday,

Global Times