Last year’s flood in Miyun District, Beijing, claimed the lives of 32 residents in a nursing home, the Taishitun Town Elderly Care Center. Yesterday, it was revealed that 17 public officials, including former Miyun District Party Secretary Yu Weiguo, are being held accountable with disciplinary actions such as dismissal and removal from their positions. Some netizens questioned if anyone was implicated in corruption related to the incident.
According to the report by CCTV, the State Council of the Chinese Communist Party reviewed and approved a disaster investigation and assessment report, attributing the significant casualties at the Taishitun Town Elderly Care Center in Miyun to a rare and massive flood caused by continuous heavy rain in the Qingshui River basin, where multiple flood peaks converged and overflowed into the nursing home.
The Beijing Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision held 17 public officials accountable from the Miyun District Committee and Government, Beijing Water Authority, Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, and other units. Among them, former Miyun District Party Secretary Yu Weiguo and District Chief Yu Haibo received “serious warnings within the party,” while the District Water Resources Bureau Director Guo Baolin was removed from office, and the District Civil Affairs Bureau Director Wang Guoliang was dismissed. Additionally, the nursing home’s registration was revoked, and the operating entity, the “Miyun District Xiaguang Social Work Office,” had its non-enterprise unit registration revoked, among other actions.
Images from the incident depicted the nursing home surrounded by floodwaters, with strong currents and water levels exceeding car doors and reaching near window sills. One elderly person in a green shirt was seen trapped inside the nursing home, helplessly gesturing for rescue outside the window, a heart-wrenching scene.
Located in Taishitun Town Street upstream of the Miyun Reservoir, the nursing home had a total of 77 individuals that day, including 8 staff members and 69 elderly residents, 55 of whom were disabled or semi-disabled.
Local residents told NTD Television that they did not receive any flood discharge warning in advance. It was not until around 4 a.m. on July 28 that they realized the danger when the water had reached knee height. “In less than 5 minutes, the water entered the house.”
Former Miyun District Party Secretary Yu Weiguo, during a press briefing on the disaster data, admitted that the Taishitun Elderly Care Center was not included in the flood emergency evacuation plan as it was considered a “safe zone.” He acknowledged the plan’s shortcomings and insufficient awareness of extreme weather events by the authorities.
In October of last year, it was announced that former Director of the Beijing Municipal Agricultural and Rural Bureau, Peng Lifeng, would assume the position of Miyun District Party Secretary, while the whereabouts of the dismissed Yu Weiguo remain unknown.
Regarding the official announcement of holding 17 officials accountable, mainland Chinese netizens sarcastically commented, “Punishing oneself three times,” “Government officials are still safe, as there are no terminations,” and “Is no one implicated in corruption?”