Chinese county party chief must resign after retaliation against reporter

SHENYANG, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A local party chief in northeast China's Liaoning Province has been ordered to resign for having police subpoena a Beijing-based reporter in retaliation for a story about the local justice system.

The Tieling municipal committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) announced the punishment for Xifeng county party chief ZhangZhiguo in Xifeng on Tuesday.

Reporter Zhu Wenna published a story on Jan. 1 this year, in which she claimed that Xifeng officials were not following procedures in a court case against a businesswoman. The report angered Zhang, who in turn dispatched local police to subpoena Zhu in Beijing.

The move by the police sparked nationwide controversy, which caused Xifeng police to withdrew the investigation against Zhu on Jan. 9.

Zhu, from Faren Magazine, reported in her story that Zhang had ordered the arrest of a woman for libel after she had sent a sarcastic text message alleging corruption. The woman's gas station had been demolished to make way for a market with meagre compensation.