Xi calls for steering clear of formalism, bureaucracy to better address crisis

While the nation works around the clock to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the authorities are also looking out for any officials who fail to perform their duties.

On Tuesday, six officials were punished in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, for mismanagement of urgently needed relief materials, according to local discipline authorities.

The action comes one day after the central leadership called on officials and Party members nationwide to shoulder their responsibilities in the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak and warned those who neglect duties that they would be held accountable.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, urged doing away with formalism and bureaucracy and encouraged grassroots officials to devote more energy on the front line of the battle against the virus on Monday.

On Tuesday, three officers of the Red Cross Society of China's Hubei branch－a designated charity responsible for handling the influx of aid－were punished for improper behavior in dealing with donations, according to a release from the provincial Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission.

The release said relevant officials and staff at the charity did not shoulder their responsibilities and failed to perform their duties when receiving and allocating donated supplies and funds during the epidemic's prevention and control and engaged in misconduct in terms of information transparency.

Zhang Qin, full-time deputy director of the Hubei branch of the Red Cross Society of China, was removed from office and given a serious warning by the Party. Two other executives with the branch, Chen Bo and Gao Qin, were reprimanded by the Party, the release said.

The action comes after the Red Cross branch came under fire last week for misallocation of donations, including surgical masks and other protective gear.

The items were among large volumes of aid arriving in Central China to relieve the shortage of medical supplies in the province, where 13,522 confirmed novel coronavirus infections had been reported as of Monday.

On the same day, Wuhan discipline inspection authorities punished three officials of the city who were involved in illegal distribution of masks in a warehouse that stores emergency supplies for epidemic prevention and control.

Xia Guohua, deputy head of Wuhan's statistics bureau, was removed from his post. Meng Wukang, head of the city's development and reform commission and its bureau of statistics, and Huang Zhitong, deputy director of the general office of the Wuhan city government, were severely criticized, according to the CPC's local discipline watchdog.

Discipline authorities at the provincial level and city level said that as fighting the epidemic is the country's top priority, and management and distribution of emergency supplies for epidemic prevention is critically important, leading officials and Party members should take the lead in fighting the outbreak on the front line and discipline authorities will enhance supervision in this regard.

On Monday, Xi, who is also president, warned as he presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee that officials who fail to honestly implement decisions and policies made by the CPC Central Committee and shirk their responsibilities would be held accountable, and that those who neglect their duties would be punished in accordance with Party discipline and the law.

Chen Xi, head of the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department, also urged officials on Monday at all levels to fully implement all arrangements made by the central leadership for the prevention and control of the ongoing epidemic.

He urged officials to prevent blind optimism and confusion, which may lead to ineffective outbreak prevention and control.

Apart from Hubei, other regions including Zhejiang, Guizhou and Hainan provinces have also reported officials being held accountable for failing to perform their duties in fighting the contagion.