China's Hu Criticizes Officials for Lax Work, China Daily Says

By Mark Lee

Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- China President Hu Jintao criticized some officials for their lax work attitude in ``recent accidents'' such as a mudslide that killed more than 200 people in Shanxi province and the discovery of a toxic chemical in dairy products, China Daily reported today.

``Some officials have ignored public opinion and turned a blind eye to peoples' hardships,'' Hu was cited by the English- language newspaper as saying in an address to a meeting of Communist Party members yesterday.

The governor of northern China's Shanxi province resigned and the vice-governor was fired after a mudslide linked to an unlicensed mine killed 254 people, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Sept. 14.

On Sept. 17, Premier Wen Jiabao forced 22 companies to recall milk powder after melamine, used to make plastics and to tan leather, was found in their products, and ordered an overhaul of the domestic dairy industry.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Lee in Hong Kong at wlee37@bloomberg.net