Railway dismissal

China's Railways Ministry spokesman has been dismissed from duty, state media reported on Wednesday, in its latest attempt to stem the flow of criticism over how it handled a deadly high-speed rail crash nearly one month ago.

The spokesman is the latest bureaucratic victim of China Railways season of scandal, following the Wenzhou high-speed train crash that killed 40 and injured 200 other people. In a brief statement, the official Xinhua news agency said the spokesman had been canned, but it did not elaborate on why.

"China's Ministry of Railways … decided to dismiss the ministry's spokesman, Wang Yongping, from office," Xinhua reported.

The ministry has come under intense public scrutiny over corruption and claims of a cover-up following the accident. Officials have now slowed train speeds, recalled trains from a key line and called for a thorough review of current rail lines and halted approvals of new construction projects.