Anti-graft blitz catches civilian, military heavyweights in China
Beijing, June 30 (IANS) Former military leader Xu Caihou is the latest among more than 30 heavyweight civilian and military officials downed in the country's fierce anti-corruption campaign.
Xu, former vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) for bribery Monday and may face prosecution as his case has been forwarded by the discipline agency to prosecutors, Xinhua reported.
Two weeks ago, authorities announced their investigation into Su Rong, then vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, who had served as party chief of several provinces before.
He is the most senior civilian official to be placed under investigation since the current CPC leadership took office in November 2012.
According to the website of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), around 30 officials of provincial and ministerial level or higher have been investigated for corruption since November 2012.
Among them were two members of the 205-strong CPC Central Committee and two alternate members.
Several were senior officials of central government departments, such as Jiang Jiemin, head of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and Li Dongsheng, vice minister of public security.
There was one from state-owned enterprises (SOEs) -- Song Lin, former chairman of China Resources.
The majority of them were senior provincial officials and chief officials of provincial capitals such as Li Chuncheng, deputy party chief of southwest China's Sichuan province, and Ji Jianye, mayor of Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.
Since February, at least two provincial or ministerial officials have been investigated for corruption every month.
Also Monday, the CPC Central Committee decided to revoke the membership of Wang Yongchun, former vice general manager of the China National Petroleum Corporation. Although not a ministerial-level official, Wang was an alternate member of the CPC Central Committee.
In China's bureaucratic system, officials of this level and above are important decision makers about central and local affairs. They are no doubt "tigers", a popular metaphor for senior corrupt officials.
Discipline inspectors have also tightened their grasp on low-ranking corrupt officials, dubbed "flies".
Based on the statements on the CCDI website, discipline inspection agencies across the country have investigated and punished more than 480 officials, with their full names published.
These officials are from 31 provincial divisions nationwide and their backgrounds range from party and government departments, SOEs to public institutions such as universities and hospitals.