Chapter 962

Especially Yang Kang, his gaze fixed tightly on Su Yang, because Su Yang's every word and deed almost decided whether the main leaders of Guantan Gou Zhen would be disciplined.

If they are disciplined, who will take the blame? That's crucial.

If Su Yang now directly says that the Town Mayor of Guantan Gou Zhen should bear responsibility, then would this Town Party Committee Secretary be fine?

If Su Yang's attitude is ambiguous, or he directly names him to take responsibility, then his original intention to go down and do some practical work— which originally aimed to go down and do some practical work but failed— would be met with a blunt stick, and he would somewhat regret it.

Su Yang thought to himself: 'Surely this is the move, but this tactic really doesn't have much lethal force against him.'

If it were in the past, he would have to take the blame; why don't you, Yang Kang, take the blame? But now his thinking has also changed, and he tries as much as possible not to actively create grudges with others.

Especially this responsibility may not be direct responsibility, because when such a thing occurs, no one can guard against it; this is pure leadership responsibility.

Such a matter can be big or small; it depends on how the leaders finally define it, and on how the county finally handles PR.

Of course, internal handling is ultimately easier; once exposed to the media, it becomes another matter.

He glanced at Yang Kang and said: "Regarding this matter, I think the Town Party Committee and the Town Government of Guantan Gou Zhen are responsible."

"The responsibility lies in the fact that after this incident occurred, no effective measures were taken to prevent the situation from worsening."

"Of course, this was not subjectively caused, but objectively occurred; however, it was brought about by our leadership's problems, and if not punished, it would be inexcusable to give higher-ups an explanation."

"But if we talk about punishment, it also depends on the actual circumstances."

He said, then paused for a moment.

This pause made everyone's hearts start pounding, because every word Su Yang said now was like a knife—it could hurt others, hurt himself, or cut down everyone with a single stroke.

Going by Su Yang's previous style as a harbinger of doom, a single swipe might even cut Secretary Zhang.

Chen Bo looked at Su Yang with a smiling face, and facing this situation, he really wanted to know how Su Yang would handle it.

At the same time he was also considering, if such a thing happened to him, how should he break the deadlock? Should he offend some people, or offend everyone in one go, or choose a prudent way to protect himself?

But Zhang Jiangbo had already declared that punishment must be given; now it's just a matter of whom to offend and how.

Zhang Jiangbo felt smug inside: "Starting now, every day I will make you feel the might of a higher-ranking official crushing people—this is just the beginning."

Zhao Nanxing could no longer hide the smile on his face: "You weren't so arrogant before? You weren't daring to charge at me recklessly, completely unafraid of me as a proper government leader?"

Now I want to see if you can still act tough.

Qi Guohui and Jiang Tao's faces were openly filled with petty triumph, thinking: "Finally we will make Su Yang know what disgust feels like."

However, Su Yang took a sip of water, unhurriedly said: "Handling it certainly needs to be done, and leadership responsibility must be borne, but it depends on the situation, Secretary Yang—on the day of the incident, had you already returned to our work post, or were you still on leave?"

As soon as he said that, Yang Kang reacted instantly, saying: "Oh, I also only returned after receiving a phone call afterward; if I had been there, I would certainly have taken effective measures right away, and would not have let the situation deteriorate so sharply."

Inside, they also felt a bit grateful toward Su Yang: "After all, he's a young man; his mind is flexible, and after a little thought he can find a reason to extricate himself—if it were someone else, they probably wouldn't have such quick on-the-spot reflexes."

Su Yang said: "If that's the case, then there should have been officials on duty in the town that day, right? I'll speak frankly: whether it's the Town Mayor, Deputy Town Mayor, or Deputy Secretary, failing to rush to the scene immediately and failing to resolve the problem promptly is dereliction of duty."

"But this happened during the Spring Festival period, when many people might be visiting relatives and friends, or engaged in social obligations; when pursuing responsibility, we can handle it leniently."

Su Yang, with just a few words, saved a large number of people.

Actually, if we really pinned this matter on the Town Mayor and Deputy Secretary, they would be quite wronged.

But now Su Yang has saved them; otherwise, this involved loss of life, and whoever took the blame, punishment would be minor, and they might even be removed from office.

Their political futures could thus be ruined for life.

But if one listens carefully, one can hear a key point from Su Yang's words: if not on duty, one can be exempt from punishment, and this is an objectively occurring event.

Yang Yang naturally needed to return the favor; otherwise, in this standing committee meeting later, he would have no foothold, even if he allied with Zhao Nanxing and others—if Su Yang kept staring at him, he would also feel uneasy.

He said: "What County Magistrate Su said is correct, so I think that for such an objectively occurring event, while there certainly is responsibility, it also needs to be differentiated by circumstances."

"If one is absent or not at post, and the incident occurs while having a legitimate reason to rest, although responsibility must be borne, the degree of responsibility needs to be considered."

"Who truly needs to bear responsibility? Those who were on duty—why didn't they make an emergency response and handle it promptly?" He stopped there, because going further might implicate Zhao Nanxing and his group.

That way he would have offended everyone; initially, his ability to hold the concurrent post of Town Party Committee Secretary was thanks to the efforts of Zhao Nanxing and his group.

This result was unexpected for Zhang Jiangbo; originally it was an open and aboveboard yang plot, but Su Yang stubbornly seized a loophole, and he even managed to pry Yang Kang away from the formerly solid Zhao Nanxing camp.

He had to reassess Su Yang; his inability to gain an advantage in the club stemmed from insufficient strength.

If in Lieshan Xian he still couldn't gain the upper hand, then his face truly would have nowhere to go.

He is not only the County Party Secretary, but also the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee in the city—an absolute superior leader.

At this moment, Chen Bo also added from the side: "Secretary Zhang, County Magistrate Zhao, comrades."

"Just now County Magistrate Su and Secretary Yang made it clear: responsibility certainly must be borne, but it also needs to be divided by circumstances and timing."

"Leaders who are off duty certainly should bear some responsibility, but the extent still needs to be grasped."

"I think we should directly report our situation to the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee and ask the municipal leaders to decide."

"Secretary Zhang, County Magistrate Zhao, what do you two think?"