Playing politics 'led to Chinese official's downfall in graft probe'
Fujian deputy governor went to extremes to boycott a project backed by Xi Jinping years ago and now he's paying for it, state media says
The downfall of Fujian deputy governor Xu Gang was partly related to his opposition to a controversial port project likely backed by Xi Jinping before he became president, state media and a source within the provincial government have said.
After months of rumours that Xu was a target, the national anti-graft agency announced on Friday that he was under investigation for suspected violations of discipline, a standard euphemism for graft. Xu is the wealthy coastal province's first big "tiger" to fall in Xi's intensifying crackdown on corruption.
Party mouthpiece People's Daily ran an article on its Weibo account almost immediately after the announcement, saying Xu's problems extended beyond corruption and included "political" matters.
In 2008, the Fujian government decided to take control of all the deep-water sea ports along a stretch of its busiest coast to streamline management. But the move was met with "extreme opposition" from Xu, who was party secretary of Quanzhou , which operated one of the largest ports in the area, the article said.
Xu used "a series of abnormal measures" to boycott the project, the article said, quoting a senior provincial government official. He allegedly used media to turn residents against the project, suggesting local interests would be hurt - such as through an erosion of tax revenues - if control shifted to the provincial government.
Protests erupted and Xu won - the streamlining project is still on hold - but he made many enemies at the provincial headquarters in Fuzhou .