Xinzhou mayor quits after 88 days amid crash claims
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Shanxi official Liu Yuan (劉鵷) has resigned as mayor of Xinzhou after serving only 88 days, with the city’s people’s congress standing committee accepting his resignation on September 24. His exit followed renewed scrutiny over a 2006 traffic crash in Taiyuan, when he was serving as deputy head of Xiaodian district. A self-media investigation and a public query by journalist Liu Hu alleged that Liu drove the wrong way and caused a collision that left one person dead and six injured. The reports also said some injured parties questioned whether alcohol was involved and whether the accident finding omitted key analysis.
Key Points
- Xinzhou Daily reported that the fifth Xinzhou Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee accepted Liu Yuan’s resignation on the afternoon of September 24
- Liu had been elected mayor at the seventh session of the fifth Xinzhou Municipal People’s Congress on June 29, making his tenure 88 days.
- After his resignation, former Shanxi industry and information technology department head Pan Haiyan was appointed acting mayor of Xinzhou.
- A September 8 article on the WeChat public account Fa Yu Qing said Liu, then Xiaodian deputy district head, drove against traffic in Taiyuan in April 2006
- The crash was said to have killed one person and injured six, while traffic police assigned equal responsibility to both drivers and Liu paid 504,000 yuan compensation.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers following mainland official accountability, the case shows how allegations tied to a decades-old incident can quickly destabilize a senior local government appointment once they regain public attention. It also raises questions about how past traffic cases involving officials were handled, especially when injured parties publicly dispute the original findings and the official concerned gives no explanation.