A Party official in East China's Jiangsu province has denied nepotism played a part in the promotion of a senior official's daughter to a top post.

Yuan Huizhong, 30, was appointed deputy secretary of Yangzhou's Communist Youth League in February.

The appointment raised eyebrows, as she previously only had three years of experience with township authorities.

A post this week by an anonymous blogger on Sina Weibo claimed the promotion had more to do with Yuan's father than with her skills. Her father, Yuan Qiunian, is a secretary of the commission for political and legal affairs and considered Yangzhou's top security official.

The post had been forwarded more than 2,000 times by Tuesday evening.

Other officials have cast doubt on the validity of Yuan's appointment.

Zheng Dewei, who is in charge of petitioning affairs for Chaohe township inneighboring Shandong province, said it usually takes at least nine years for a township cadre to be promoted to her level.

"Most township officials have no opportunity to get promoted, even though they work hard, because posts are scarce," he said.

Yuan Huizhong and her father were unavailable for comment on Tuesday, while calls to the city publicity departments went unanswered.

However, on Monday the Modern Express quoted Zhang Aijun, secretary of the organization department for the city's Party committee, which is responsible for personnel, as saying Yuan Huizhong had earned the job fairly, and that her father exerted no influence over the selection process.

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