Top Shanxi official, a graft-buster for more than 20 years, now faces corruption probe

The Communist Party’s anti-graft body has placed under investigation one of its own – a senior Shanxi province official who was once deputy secretary general of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Committee (CCDI), which has been at the forefront of a sweeping graft crackdown launched by President Xi Jinping.

Jin Daoming, deputy party chief of Shanxi, adds to a long list of officials who were brought down in a widening graft probe against government officials, which has also spread to business circles and the academe.

Jin was placed under investigation on Thursday for “serious violations of laws and disciplines”, according to the CCDI website, without providing further details.

Jin, 60, started working as a labourer in Beijing at the age of 16. After joining the Communist Youth League of Beijing, he was promoted up the ranks in the 1970s to ‘80s and was transferred to the Ministry of Supervision, which helps ensure discipline in the party.

He joined the CCDI in 1987, serving as assistant to top graft-buster Wei Jianxing, who was CCDI secretary from the early 1990s to 2002, according to local media. Wei was also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.

Jin worked with the discipline inspection commission for more than 16 years, where his highest rank was as deputy general secretary.

He was transferred to Shanxi province as head of the provincial Discipline Inspection Commission in 2006 and was promoted to deputy party chief of the province in 2010.

Just this January, Jin was named deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Congress,

Jin’s most recent public appearance was at a meeting on Monday with the Sixth Central Inspection team, which briefed the Shanxi provincial party commission on the results of their investigation. The inspection team is part of several task forces deployed by the CCDI to look into wrongdoing.