[comp.dcom.telecom] China Fires Communications Minister

ndallen@contact.uucp (Nigel Allen) (03/09/91)

 China Fires Ministers in Crackdown on Corruption
 From:   IN%"chenh@ucs.indiana.edu"  "HUIJIE CHEN"
 Source: Associated Press, Mar. 2, 1991

BEIJING -- China's ministers of communications and construction were
fired as part of a campaign to fight widespread government corruption
and win back the trust of the Chinese people, the official Xinhua News
Agency said Saturday.

Communications Minister Qian Yongchang and Construction Minister Lin
Hanxiong are the first Cabinet-level officials dismissed as part of
the campaign, launched in 1989.  Other key personnel changes are
expected to go before the National People's Congress, China's
rubber-stamp legislature, later this month.

Qian was removed for abusing his power for personal gain and Lin for
disciplinary reasons.  Xinhua said the national legislature's
decision-making Standing Committee decided Saturday to remove the
ministers, but provided no further details.  According to the Ta Kung
Pao newspaper in Hong Kong, Lin's removal was to punish him for
violating Chinese regulations related to foreign matters.

Xinhua said Qian would be replaced by Huang Zhendong, general manager
of the State Communications Investment Co. who served for three years
as vice minister of the Communications Ministry.  Lin would be
replaced by Hou Jie, a former vice minister of water resources.

Among other expected personnel changes are the resignations of Vice
Premier Yao Yilin, 74, and Vice Premier Wu Xueqian, 70, both due to
age and health reasons.  Xinhua also reported that a high-ranking
Chinese official who fled to the United States last year was removed
from his post as a member of the Standing Committee.
 
 (from China News Digest, March 4, 1991)
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Has anyone else heard anything about this and what it may mean?
 

Nigel Allen   ndallen@contact.uucp

0004133373@mcimail.com (Donald E. Kimberlin) (03/11/91)

In article <Digest v11, iss190>, Nigel Allen <ndallen@contact.uucp>
posts:
 
> BEIJING -- China's ministers of communications and construction were
> fired as part of a campaign to fight widespread government corruption
> and win back the trust of the Chinese people,
 
> Qian was removed for abusing his power for personal gain...
 
Nigel than poses the question:

> Has anyone else heard anything about this and what it may mean?
 
        Well, Nigel, I don't monitor the Chinese telecommunications
political misfeasance scene as we have plenty here in the U.S. daily.
What it seems to mean is that telecommunications politicians are just
as crooked in China as in the U.S. or anywhere else.  Must be a pretty
nice political plum everywhere.

        In fact, since China has about four times the population of
the U.S., such infrequent firings as they do have tend to indicate the
Chinese are either far more honest or far more tolerant of political
crooks than we are.  (You decide which!)
 

wolfson@mot.com (Steve Wolfson) (03/11/91)

> BEIJING -- China's ministers of communications and construction were
> fired as part of a campaign to fight widespread government corruption

	We can only hope it is because he tried to replace all of the
payphones with COCOTs ;-)


Steve Wolfson    Motorola Inc. 

K_MULLHOLAND@unhh.unh.edu (KATH MULLHOLAND) (03/12/91)

I am not sure if there is as much shady dealing here as in China
regarding Telecom or not, but I do have some dealings with Chinese
students.  A few of them have told me that ini their country, it is
not uncommon for someone related to or friendly with a telephone
operator to get that operator to place calls for them and charge it to
someone they dislike.  It is very difficult to get those charges
reversed.

One interesting note about Chinese Telecom -- according to a former
AT&T operator -- there are three gateways in China.  Beijing, Shanghai
and one other that I can't recall at this moment. Any call out of
China may go out through any one of these gateways, and it is not
uncommon for a call originating in Beijing to be billed as coming from
Shanghai.


Kath Mullholand     UNH, Durham NH