China Official’s Call to Save Xi’s City Angers Flood Victims

  • Hebei’s Communist Party leader criticized over flooding
  • Officials had put priority on protecting new city, airport
A vehicle stranded in mud in the Mentougou district of Beijing on Aug. 3.Source: Bloomberg
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Chinese flood victims in hard hit areas of northern China have taken aim at a key Communist Party official, saying he sacrificed their safety to protect President Xi Jinping’s flagship projects.

A hashtag playing off a comment by Ni Yuefeng, the Communist Party boss of Hebei province, had more than 80 million views on China’s Twitter-like Weibo on Thursday. Many people expressed anger at Ni because he called for cities in the province bordering Beijing to “resolutely play a good role of moat for the capital.”