Ever since Mayor Liu Zhijie was forced to resign over the landslide at the Tashan iron ore mine which killed 300 miners in September 2008, the city of Linfen in Shanxi Province has been hard-pressed to find anyone willing to take his place. From BBC:
[The city of Linfen in central China’s Shanxi Province] is struggling to find someone – anyone – to serve as the city’s mayor.
The position has now been vacant for more than half a year following the sacking of the last incumbent.
[…]To keep the job, the next mayor will have to make sure the city’s mines are safe places to work. But that will be no easy task.
China has an appalling record when it comes to work safety, something the central government has pledged to improve.
As part of that plan it is forcing local government leaders to close down small and illegal mines.
