Local Officials Dismissed for Botched Response to China’s Initial Covid Outbreak Are Back in Government

What’s new: Senior officials in Central China’s Hubei province who were dismissed following the coronavirus outbreak last year have assumed new posts, according to state media.

Ma Guoqiang, former Communist Party chief of Wuhan, the provincial capital, was made a member of the leading party group of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress, according to the official Hubei Daily. Local media revealed Ma’s new post when he attended a meeting in the role on Monday.

Earlier this month, Jiang Chaoliang, former party chief of Hubei, has been named deputy chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Wang Xiaodong, who left his post as Hubei governor in May, has assumed the role of the deputy chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

And Zhou Xianwang, who resigned from the role of Wuhan mayor in January, has been appointed deputy chairman of the CPPCC’s Hubei Provincial Committee.

The background: In February of last year, Beijing removed and replaced the Wuhan and Hubei party heads to discipline them for not having responded to the deadly virus in the early stage of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Jiang was replaced by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong, and Ma has been succeeded by Wang Zhonglin, party secretary of Jinan, East China’s Shandong province.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Contact reporter Cai Xuejiao (xuejiaocai@caixin.com) and editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com)

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