More than 30 government officials have been ordered to withdraw their membership of a luxurious golf club in the wealthy eastern city of Wenzhou following a torrent of online criticism.

Authorities in Wenzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province have launched an investigation into the city's social groups and non-governmental organizations in a bid to clean up any potential government involvement in the wake of the scandal.

The 30 government officials - including deputy mayor, deputy director of the standing committee of the municipal people's congress, and deputy secretary of the commission for discipline inspection - were found to have assumed major titles in the recently established Wenzhou Golf Association (WGA), sparking public anger over possible corruption.

WGA membership costs 398,000 yuan (US$58,583)- about 40 times the average annual income of farmers in Zhejiang.

Netizens questioned if the officials paid for the membership or used their standing in the government for it.

In response to the criticism, the city's Party committee ordered the officials involved on Wednesday night to remove their names from the association's committee.

Li Jian, spokesman for the organization department of the city's Party committee, said Friday that the government had launched "a thorough investigation into the city's social organizations to see if there are additional malpractices involved".

He said such possibilities could not be ruled out given the strength of private business and a large number of industrial associations and other organizations in the city.

Under Chinese law, no government officials are allowed to take up positions with social organizations, although exceptions are allowed for some charity groups.

"Having top leaders on the membership list is important to promote golf, although most of them would only serve as nominal leaders in the club," said an anonymous official from the municipal sports federation in an interview with 21st Century Business Herald.

He also said golf had been included as an event in the Olympics and the provincial sports competition, which is why local authorities want to support its development.

Local governments have been keen on developing golf courses in recent years because of the "great profit returns", according to experts, despite the fact that China's Ministry of Land and Resources banned land use for golf courses in 2004 due to limited land resources.

More than 400 golf courses have been constructed between 2004 and 2009 in the name of building country clubs or resorts, according to an investigation by the Golf Education and Research Center of Beijing Forestry University.

(Xinhua News Agency Aug 14, 2010)