Hubei Province, in central China, has expelled 500 people from the Communist Party of China for defying the "one-child" family planning policy.

Last year, the province found 93,084 people had additional children in violation of the policy, including 1,678 officials or Party members, according to the provincial family planning commission.

Also identified by the panel were seven national and local law makers or political advisers. They lost their political status. Another 395 offenders were dismissed from their posts.

"More Party members, celebrities, and well-off people are violating the policies in recent years, which has undermined social equality," said Yang Youwang, director of the commission.

He said a number of cases involving celebrities or officials were still being investigated and the individuals would be identified once their situation was verified.

Hubei Province says offenders will be barred from government employment for three years and cannot hold elective office or be political advisers.

In a separate case, an official in Tongnan County in western Chongqing Municipality was sacked after he was found to have a second child, aged 12.

A survey by the national family planning commission has found that the majority of wealthy or well-known people had two children and 10 percent had three.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2008)