Yang Hui, whose father Yang Dongliang leads China's work safety administration, is a deputy general manager at a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation
ZHUANG PINGHUI
PINGHUI.ZHUANG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 19 August, 2015, 4:11pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 19 August, 2015, 4:36pm
Yang Dongliang, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, at a news conference in Beijing in March. His son, Yang Hui, was well connected because of his father. Photo: Reuters
The son of Yang Dongliang, China’s top official on work safety, was taken away for investigation almost at the same time as his father was being scrutinised for alleged violation of Communist Party rules and the law, local media have reported.
His son is Yang Hui, a deputy general manager of the CNOOC Gas & Power Group, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation. According to The Beijing News, he was taken away while on a business trip in Tianjin, the port city where a warehouse storing dangerous goods exploded last week, killing at least 114 people, with 65 others still missing.
The junior Yang was well connected in Tianjin because of his father, who was deputy mayor between 2001 and 2012, after which he was promoted to head of the State Administration of Work Safety.
There has been no indication from officials whether Yang Dongliang’s detention was linked to the industrial accident, one of the worst in China’s history.
But news portal QQ.com reported the investigation was related to Yang’s tenure at the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which he headed from 2004 to 2009.
The national anti-graft agency conducted a review into losses of state-owned assets in Tianjin last month.
The News suggested the inquiry into Yang was tied to Wu Zhenfang, a retired general manager of China National Offshore Oil Corporation. Authorities said in April that Wu had been placed under party investigation for serious violation of discipline.
The newspaper cited several unidentified sources as saying Yang Hui’s involvement with CNOOC Gas & Power Group dated to 2011, when he was less than 30 years old and secretary of its Communist Party’s Youth League wing.
At the time, his father was working closely with Wu, according to the News report. The two signed a deal to install pipes and supply liquefied natural gas to Tianjin as representatives for the municipal government and CNOOC.
The investigation into Yang Dongliang had been ongoing for six months before authorities announced it on Tuesday, according to the Beijing Youth Daily.
Several people, including party elders, had lodged complaints with party authorities while he was deputy mayor, the report said.
Yang, 61, built his career in the petrochemical industry, starting as an oil field driller and later being named as deputy general manager of Tianjin United Chemical, before being promoted to the municipal government. His experience in the oil and gas sector helped was instrumental in building up the petrochemical sector in the metropolis.
In 2006, after a blast in a workshop at a chemical plant, Yang ordered an inspection to ensure there were no hazardous chemicals.
According to the Qq.com report, several employees in the administration said there were no signs of anything out of the ordinary before Tuesday’s announcement. They all spoke highly of Yang.
Unidentified sources at the administration were quoted as saying he “took the initiative and worked very hard”, and described him as “very practical and very resourceful at work”.
Yang is the sixth member of the party’s Central Committee to fall from grace since the 18th party congress.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1850805/son-detained-tianjin-work-safety-official-taken-away-same-time
