Two top officials face accusations of bribery
Beijing said yesterday it was pursuing corruption probes against officials from Shanghai and Hainan province , as Premier Wen Jiabao called for greater efforts to fight graft this year.
Authorities have removed Xie Mingzhong from his post as Communist Party chief of Wenchang in Hainan and expelled him from the party on suspicion of taking bribes and abusing power, in one of the biggest corruption cases in the province's history, state media reported.
Xie was found to have hidden more than 25 million yuan (HK$27.9 million) in funds, as well as other assets, including 17 pieces of jewellery, which he could not account for.
Most of the money that he secretly put away is believed to have come from bribes.
The official allegedly took bribes in return for project approvals, arranging capital, urban planning permits and job promotions starting from 2002.
Xie also allegedly had improper sexual relationships with 'several' women.
Local authorities detained him in January.
Meanwhile, a court in Anhui province is processing the case of a former Shanghai official, Changning district chief Chen Chaoxian , for accepting more than 3.1 million yuan in bribes, Caijing magazine said on its website yesterday.
Chen is one of a handful of Shanghai officials yet to be sentenced in the city's biggest-ever corruption case involving misappropriation of pension funds. The magazine said his case was not directly connected, but it emerged as a result of the pension fund investigation.
Chen allegedly took bribes from at least six people, including a Hong Kong businessman, in return for jointly operating a business venture and receiving money that was intended as compensation for housing relocations.
He used his post to benefit himself and others, it said.
Former Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu was jailed for 18 years by a court in Tianjin this month for taking more than 2.39 million yuan in bribes and abusing his power.
'We must clearly see that there are still many remaining problems with the building of clean government,' Mr Wen said in a long article published by Xinhua yesterday.
'No matter who, no matter how high their position, [we] must earnestly investigate in accordance with discipline and the law.'
Mr Wen said transparency and greater supervision were needed to combat corruption.
Analysts say a lack of political reform and independent institutions has allowed corruption to flourish.
Called to account
A court in Anhui province is holding its biggest-ever corruption case
Changning district chief Chen Chaoxian, a former Shanghai official, is accused of taking bribes, in yuan, of: 3.1m
