New | Superstitious world of corrupt politicians
State media has reported on officials' obsession with fortune tellers and fung shui amid concern by Communist Party bosses that some cadres are reverting to 'feudal' beliefs
Allegations that a senior official under investigation for corruption spent part of 10 million yuan (HK$12.5 million) on the services of a fung shui master has prompted state media to report on the “superstitious” beliefs of other cadres, amid government concern about an increase in “feudal” beliefs among some of the nation’s politicians.
The government’s anti-corruption investigation department said last week that Li Chuncheng, the former deputy Communist Party chief in Sichuan province, spent the cash on the fung shui adviser and for Taoist monks when he moved the tomb of an ancestor.
Li was stripped of his posts and expelled from the party last week.
The corruption watchdog accused him of taking massive bribes and engaging in “feudal and superstitious activities”.
State-run Xinhua cited the case of Ye Shuyang, a former public security chief in Shaoguan in Guangdong province who took more than 34 million yuan in bribes.
On the night before he was arrested in 2008 he went to an adviser to have his fortune read.
Ye also went to visit monks on Wutai mountain in Shanxi province while he was studying at the Central Party School to forecast how his career was likely to go.