Top food quality official resigns amid dairy scandal
23 September 2008
China's chief food and product quality regulator, Li Changjiang, resigned Monday, amid a nationwide dairy scandal that has killed at least three children and sickened nearly 53,000, the Wall Street Journal reported. An official reason was not given for the resignation. Li was chief of the country's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Should he be officially linked to the scandal, Li would be the highest-ranked political casualty to date. Wang Yong, deputy secretary-general for the State Council, will become the new chief food and product quality regulator, according to anonymous sources quoted by the paper. China's health ministry said yesterday that most of the 52,800 children brought to hospitals after falling ill had "basically recovered," but nearly 13,000 remain hospitalized.