Communist Party chief at time of deadly 2009 riots in Western Chinese city expelled and faces graft charges
Li Zhi is remembered for pleading with angry crowd to disperse and avoid further violence
The former Communist Party boss of the western Chinese city of Urumqi at the time of deadly ethnic clashes in 2009 has been expelled from the party and faces prosecution for corruption, the official state news service reported.
Li Zhi, also a former deputy head of the regional legislature of Xinjiang autonomous region of which Urumqi is the capital, allegedly forged personal records, took bribes and committed adultery after the party’s anti-graft watchdog concluded its internal probe, Xinhua reported on Monday.
Based the CCDI’s findings, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate – the state prosecutor – said it had launched a criminal investigation into Li for alleged bribe-taking, Xinhua added.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said Li had “seriously violated socialist morality and committed adultery”, attempted to hamper the investigation, and hide and transfer illicit funds and property.
Li, 64, became party chief of Urumqi in November, 2006, but was sacked two months after riots in the city broke out on July 5, 2009 between Han and Uygur residents, which left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 injured. More fighting broke out two days later after a protest by more than 300 Uygurs in Urumqi’s People’s Square.
The July riots had started during a protest march calling for an inquiry into a violent dispute on June 25 between migrant Uygur and Han workers at a factory in Shaoguan, in Guangdong province, which left at least two Uygurs dead.