Official punished for seeking COVID privileges

A female official who refused to obey the COVID-19 prevention and control rules and attempted to get special treatment on Wednesday before entering her residential compound in Dalian, Liaoning province, was removed from her post and given a serious warning on Thursday, according to the local disciplinary authorities.

The woman, Wang Chenming, was deputy director of the city's Youyi subdistrict. 

A video clip showing Wang arguing with epidemic prevention and control volunteers at Kangle community spread widely on social media platforms.

With the resurgence of COVID-19 in Dalian, local authorities have imposed strict measures to contain infections. Everyone entering residential compounds must provide their personal information, including name, telephone number and identification card number.

Wang, who was in charge of the subdistrict's epidemic prevention and control, had returned home after work at about 7:30 pm on Wednesday. At the gate, she wrote only her name and phone number on the registration form.

When a volunteer reminded her to provide her ID number, she refused and called Lu Xianbao, deputy Party chief of Kangle community of Youyi subdistrict, to pressure the volunteer. Lu told the volunteer who Wang was and asked him to allow her to enter.

The volunteer responded, in effect, that it didn't matter who Wang was and asked on what basis she should be allowed to pass without providing the required information. 

Netizens praised the volunteer for treating everyone equally and condemned Wang for asking for special privileges.

The volunteer, surnamed Zhang, told Red Star News that both Wang and Lu—who is in charge of volunteers in the community — apologized to him an hour later. 

In her apology, Wang said she was very tired that day and had failed to control her emotions, the volunteer said.

According to Dalian's disciplinary authorities, Wang, as an official in charge of epidemic prevention and control of the subdistrict, should have taken the lead in implementing and abiding by requirements. 

Instead, she refused to cooperate and sought convenience for herself, which disturbed the order of epidemic prevention and control work, dampened the enthusiasm of volunteers and caused serious adverse effects, the authorities said.

Lu, an official of the residential community, also failed to perform his duty, they said.