Critical CPPCC member dropped

A five-year member of the Standing Committee of the Henan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is claiming he was dropped from the committee because he spoke out against a tomb reclamation campaign in Nanyang.

Zhao Keluo, 38, who heads an accounting firm and has been a member of the local CPPCC for nine years, wrote sarcastically on his Sina Weibo that he regretted making his critical remarks in May.

In the posting titled "An apology from a CPPCC standing committee member," Zhao suggested he was not renominated to the standing committee because of his criticism of the tomb removal campaign.

He noted he was dropped despite a recommendation from the provincial department of finance.

"I am so naive about politics, I should have been removed far earlier," wrote Zhao mockingly, adding that he took his position so seriously that he believed the CPPCC was designed to supervise the work of the Party and the government.

An official from the office in charge of nominations at the United Front Work Department of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee told the Global Times that nominations to the provincial CPPCC closed several days ago and the election of members has begun.

Zhao posted several comments in May lambasting the grave-flattening campaign, which is designed to return the land to farming. Zhao acerbically suggested the officials in charge of the campaign should the first to have their ancestors' graves destroyed.

Zho said his postings "were deleted by me after Shi Jichun, director of the United Front Work Department, pointed out that my postings tarnished the image of Henan and Nanyang and asked me to apologize to the public."

"I should not have objected the campaign," Zhao was quoted as saying by the Beijing News Monday.

The Shanghai Morning Post reported earlier this month that the tomb removal campaign, which will end at the end of the year, has dug up some 2.46 million graves and converted some 2,000 hectares to farmland.

Calls to Zhao were left unanswered as of late Wednesday.

Yu Guoming, deputy dean with the School of Journalism and Communication at the Renming University of China, told the Global Times that CPPCC members have the right to supervise decision-making through various legal means. "Openness to dissenting voices is a hallmark of a modern government."

Yu noted it is not uncommon to cancel a CPPCC member's nomination; "however, if Zhao was removed for airing criticisms, local officials are narrow-minded."