Han Guizhi has been removed from her post as chairwoman of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

At its latest session which ended Thursday, the standing committee of the provincial political advisory body resolved to remove her. She had earlier been removed as head of the local advisory body's Party chief. No reason was given.

Han did not become a public figure in a national context until she was reported to be the mother-in-law of, Su Xiuwen, a woman driver whose BMW sedan drove into a crowd in the provincial capital of Harbin in October after a dispute, killing one woman and injuring 12 people.

Han and public security departments denied she had any association with the suspect.

Su was sentenced to two years in prison with three years' probation. A review of the case ordered by Beijing found the sentence was appropriate and concluded that Su's actions were a matter of misjudgement and driving error, not malice.

Xinhua's Web site published a story by the Guangzhou-based newspaper New Express which said Han's removal had nothing to do with gossip about her relationship with the BMW case but was due to involvement in "a major corruption scandal."

(Shenzhen Daily June 14, 2004)