Liu Wen, director of CCTV-9, detained in corruption probe
Supervisor of the popular A Bite of China said to have engaged in financial misdoings
Liu Wen, the director of CCTV-9, the documentary channel of Chinese Central Television, has been detained by authorities for investigation.
The mainland’s business news website Caixin.com reported last night that Liu, who supervised the production of the popular documentary series A Bite of China, was taken away due to “financial problems” on Wednesday.
The website cited sources saying the National Audit Office Liu was found to be have engaged in financial misdoings in the purchase of foreign documentaries and was suspected to benefit from implicit product placements in top-rated documentaries.
This is just the latest anti-graft hit on the state broadcaster. In June, Guo Zhenxi , CCTV’s financial news channel director, and producer Tian Liwu , were detained on suspicion of corruption. In July, the channel’s leading news anchor, Rui Chenggang, was also detained in a corruption probe, together with its managing director and a producer.
A employee at the documentary channel said he saw Liu on Thursday at the station, Caixin.com reported.
Launched in 2011, CCTV-9 is a 24-hour channel broadcasting documentaries in both Chinese and English. It claims to reach more than 900 million people in China.