Yang Liwei resigned after less than three months as the director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office. The official said it was a normal transfer.(Internet)
(Beijing News) It was recently rumored that Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut in space, was dismissed from his post due to suspicion of military corruption. Officials refuted the rumors yesterday and said that Yang Liwei no longer serves as director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office because he has reached the leadership position.The maximum number of years, and said that the legal responsibility of those who spread rumors and slanders will be investigated.
The official Weibo account of the China Manned Space Engineering Network issued an article yesterday stressing that Yang Liwei transferred to other posts normally according to organizational arrangements in July last year and engaged in management work related to the manned space engineering.
The Weibo said that individuals have recently maliciously slandered the aerospace hero and spread rumors to slander Yang Liwei on the Internet: This is a serious slander and malicious slander against the aerospace hero and China's first man in space.We strongly condemn and resolutely oppose this kind of behavior, and will seriously investigate the legal responsibility of the relevant parties in accordance with the law.
Yang Liwei, 54, launched into space aboard the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft in 2003 and became China's first astronaut into space. This symbolized a major step forward for China's aerospace industry and became a hero in the minds of many Chinese people.
Yang Liwei was awarded the rank of senior colonel in 2004 and the rank of major general in 2008. He successively served as deputy director of the China Astronaut Scientific Research and Training Center, deputy commander-in-chief of the astronaut system of the Manned Space Engineering Project, and deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office. In April 2018Yue was promoted to director of the office.
However, the official website of China Manned Space Engineering announced on July 12, 2018 that Hao Chun, the former deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, has been appointed as the director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office; this means that Yang Liwei, who has held this position for less than three months,Has resigned, but the official has not explained his whereabouts.
Hong Kong Ming Pao reported last Thursday that Yang Liwei was dismissed due to his involvement with former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China Xu Caihou, former Director of the Political Work Department Zhang Yang and other big tigers.The reason given by the report is that in addition to Yang Liwei serving as the director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and being promoted from deputy military level to full military level within three months, he was replaced. It also pointed out that he was at a public event on December 12, 2018.He still wears the senior badge of the deputy military rank.In addition, in the list of 100 people commended for the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up announced by Beijing in December last year, only the name of China's first spacewalking astronaut Jing Haipeng was seen, and Yang Liwei was not selected.Therefore, the report believes that although Yang Liwei was able to protect himself and retire with the title of China's first man in space, his career as a deputy military officer will come to an end.
As for Yang Liwei's relationship with Xu Caihou and Zhang Yang, the report did not provide details.
