¡¡¡¡BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Eight chief officials of government departments of east China's Anhui Province have been sacked after failing their appraisals, the first of their kind in the province.

¡¡¡¡Although none of them had violated laws or regulations, they were discharged because of their unsatisfactory performances and inability to meet the demands of staff and the public, according to local sources.

¡¡¡¡"It's not easy to be a government official now," said Wang Zhen,an official with the provincial government. "With the implementation of reforms on government personnel, incompetent officials are more likely to be removed from their positions."

¡¡¡¡The Chinese government also intensified audit supervision of 53,358 officials at different levels as well as 5,791 leaders of state-owned companies in 2000 and 2001. Those who were proved to have financial discrepancies were disciplined.

¡¡¡¡In order to improve efficiency, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China promulgated in July a regulation on official assignment and promotion, providing guidelines for the management of personnel in the party and government. Enditem