Hou Hong File Photo: Beijing Daily

Hou Hong, the former mayor of Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, who was demoted after a disaster caused by torrential rain in the city, has been appointed deputy director of the province's health commission, and designated as a department director level official.

Hou is ranked first among the commission leaders, according to the website of the health commission. Hou was born in January 1967. She joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in August 1987 and graduated from Zhengzhou University in July 1989 with a major in journalism, according to public information from the Health Commission for Henan Province.

Chen Hongwei, another official who previously received administrative penalties, has recently been appointed a member of the standing committee of the CPC of Zhengzhou municipal committee, and deputy mayor of the city government, according to the city authorities.

Torrential rain hit Zhengzhou on July 20 in 2021, causing waterlogging in urban areas, river flooding, mountain torrents and landslides, which resulted in heavy casualties and property losses. A total of 398 people died or went missing due to the disaster and 95.5 percent of them were from Zhengzhou, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Party chiefs and senior officials of Zhengzhou and relevant districts and counties were required to shoulder responsibility for the disaster. Hou received a serious warning within the Party and was given an administrative demotion.

Xu Liyi, former secretary of the CPC Zhengzhou Municipal Committee, was given the penalty of a severe warning within the Party and administrative demotion by the National Supervisory Commission, Xinhua reported.

A netizen previously asked whether being disciplined means the end of one's political career and no chance for promotion. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the National Supervisory Commission used three cases - involving officials who had been punished previously but later all got promoted based on their performance - as examples to respond to this question in February 2020.

Handing out disciplinary and administrative penalties is not meant to be career-ending for officials; rather, it provides an opportunity to educate them. The relevant laws and regulations all stipulate the impact period of disciplinary penalties. For outstanding public servants or officials who have performed well after the impact period, they will still have opportunities to get promoted, said the discipline inspection and supervision authorities.

Global Times