SHENZHEN Executive Vice Mayor Liu Yingli has resigned citing age as the reason, the municipal legislature said.

The Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress (MPC), the city’s lawmaking body, approved Liu’s resignation Tuesday, Chinese-language newspapers reported yesterday.

Liu, born in 1948 and a native of Changchun in Jilin Province, became vice mayor in 2002 with his portfolio including high-tech industries.

The city legislature also approved the resignation requests by Zhang Jianguo and Wang Xinjian, both vice chiefs of the standing committee of the MPC.

Huang Min, vice director general of the city’s transport bureau, was appointed Tuesday to succeed Liu Zhijiao as the bureau chief. Liu, a Guangdong native, retired at 60.

Huang, born in 1963 and a native of Puning, Guangdong Province, was employed by the transport bureau in 1987 and promoted to vice director general in August 2001.

Huang promised to improve Shenzhen’s public transport to make it “live up to people’s expectations” in a post-appointment speech.

Shenzhen’s legislature will begin its five-day annual session April 8. (Li Jing)