IN SCANDAL'S SHADOW, HENAN OFFICIALS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 005797 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS EAP/PD FOR NIDA EMMONS HHS FOR OGHA/STEIGER AND PASS TO FDA/LUMPKIN USDA FOR FSIS/RAYMOND USDA FOR FAS OA/YOST, OCRA/ALEXANDER, OSTA/BRANT COMMERCE FOR ITA/HIJIKATA AND CINO STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR NHTSA ABRAHAM/KRATZKE STATE PASS CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION RICH O'BRIEN/INTL PROGRAMS STATE PASS USTR CHINA OFFICE/TIM WINELAND STATE PASS OMB/INT'L AFFAIRS STATE PASS HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL STATE PASS IMPORT SAFETY WORKING GROUP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD TBIO PREL CH SUBJECT: IN SCANDAL'S SHADOW, HENAN OFFICIALS MOBILIZE FOR NATIONAL FOOD AND PRODUCT SAFETY DRIVE T H I S I S A C O R R E C T E D C O P Y THIS CABLE TAKES THE PLACE OF BEIJING 5791 AND CORRECTS LANGUAGE IN PARA. 3. ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Under the impetus of the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) Party Secretary's recent visit to Henan Province, local officials have launched an interdepartmental working group to address the challenges of local enforcement of Beijing's directives on food safety. This is part of a four-month nationwide campaign kicked off August 23. However, as if to underscore the difficulties China's leaders face in this regard, the former Henan provincial official directly responsible for enforcement of food and product safety regulation was recently stripped of his NPC credentials under suspicion of accepting bribes. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Director General of Henan Province's Foreign Affairs Office told visiting Econ M/C and Econoff during an August 26-28 trip to Henan that the province has recently launched a campaign to address the food safety issue in response to pressure from Beijing. He opined that the Province had the means to cope with any deficiencies in enforcement. Local officials have organized an inter-departmental working group to mirror the leading group set up in the State Council under Vice-Premier Wu Yi. According to Henan officials, this effort was in response to a visit paid to the province by General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) Party Secretary Li Chuanqing on August 24. Henan officials note that at least one of the top three officials of AQSIQ, including Party Secretary Li, Minister Li Changjiang, and a third unspecified official intends to visit every province in China to drive home the message of the importance of this issue. During his trip to Henan, AQSIQ Party Secretary Li held meetings attended also by Henan SIPDIS Governor Li Chengyu to spread the word to provincial, municipal and county-level officials. This national campaign is set to run for four months, Henan officials told us. ¶3. (SBU) As if to underscore the difficulty of enforcing food and product safety regulations at the local level, the Beijing Wanbao on August 31 reported that China's National People's Congress had stripped former Director of Henan Province's Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (CIQ) Bao Jianmin (CIQ is the provincial level equivalent of AQSIQ) of his credentials for the 10th NPC Standing Committee on the grounds that he was suspected of taking bribes. Media accounts from Xinhua and other sources dated August 4 report that the provincial People's Congress was considering recommending that Bao be removed from the NPC Standing Committee as he was suspected of receiving bribes and payoffs both during his tenure as CIQ director and during his tenure in previous posts. The amounts dating from 1997-2006 were estimated to have been 483,000 RMB and 80,000 USD. The article said Bao, in return, provided certain BEIJING 00005797 002 OF 002 benefits to those who paid the bribes. Bao was also reported to have accepted large additional gifts and to have accumulated suspiciously large personal wealth which was also the subject of investigation. The media accounts also noted that Henan CIQ Deputy Director Chen Xuesheng had been convicted of accepting 240,000 RMB in bribes, the standard sentence for which, if convicted, is six years in prison. ¶4. (SBU) Comment. Henan FAO officials said the recent visit of the AQSIQ Party Secretary had no connection to the bribery case details of which they say surfaced in the April/May time-frame. They note that every province is receiving a similar visit. Even if true, the case does indicate the daunting problems China faces in ensuring local officials implement Beijing's directives. RANDT