SHANGHAI, May 29 (Reuter). The vice mayor of a city in east China has been dismissed from his job and the city's Communist Party committee for refusing to work in Tibet, the Wen Hui Bao newspaper reported on Monday.

It said Zhao Fuqing, the vice mayor of Xiaoshan in Zhejiang province responsible for industry, was found through observations by his superiors and physical tests to be suitable for work in Tibet, China's poorest region.

But he refused to go despite repeated attempts at persuasion by his

superiors. As a result, he was stripped both of his post as vice-mayor and his seat on the city's Communist Party committee, the newspaper said.

It said Zhao's refusal came in the middle of a national campaign to

study and learn from Kong Fansen, a devoted Han Chinese official who died at his post in Tibet.

Most Han Chinese do not want to work in Tibet because its climate,

customs and way of life differ greatly from that in the rest of China.

It is national policy to send Han Chinese to work there, usually for a fixed period of time, to provide skills not available among the local population and ensure central control of the region.