Former No 2 party official in Xinjiang Yang Gang investigated for corruption

A former deputy Communist Party chief in Xinjiang has been placed under investigation for corruption, the latest high-ranking official to be swept up in a national crackdown on graft.

Yang Gang, 60, was suspected of "severe violations of discipline and the law", the party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said. The phrase is commonly used as a euphemism for corruption.

From 2006 to 2010, Yang was the party's second-highest-ranking official in Xinjiang. He is now deputy director of the committee for economic affairs at the nation's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee.

He had worked for 41 years in Xinjiang, rising through the ranks of the party, according to Caixin Media's online news portal.

He was transferred to Beijing in 2010 and was a vice-minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine until July.

The investigation makes Yang at least the 17th official of the vice-ministerial level or above to come under investigation in the months since President Xi Jinping took power.

Xi has taken a hard line against graft, waste and extravagance. He has warned that corruption could destroy the party and has threatened to crack down on high-ranking officials, saying graft-busters should go after "tigers" as well as "flies".

High-profile cases that have emerged over the past year include the sacking of Jiang Jiemin , the head of the state-owned-assets watchdog. The party, however, has yet to make the systemic reforms analysts say are necessary to root out endemic public corruption.