China formally sacked former vice minister of public security Li Dongsheng, state media announced on Monday, only a day after news that China’s premier had unveiled more measures to tackle corruption.
Li Dongsheng had been suspended for suspected serious discipline violations last December, a brief statement issued by Xinhua said, giving no further details.
The term “serious discipline violations” normally refers to corruption, and the news comes as speculation intensifies about the country’s former domestic security tsar Zhou Yongkang.
Zhou, one of the most powerful politicians of the last decade, has been put under virtual house arrest while the ruling Communist Party investigates accusations of corruption against him.
President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping crackdown on corruption since taking power, warning that the problem is a threat to the Communist Party’s very survival.
The Chinese government will decentralise authority, be more transparent and adopt a “zero tolerance” attitude to corruption this year as it deepens its fight against graft, reported state media on Sunday, citing Premier Li Keqiang.
The latest measures were laid out in a speech by Li Keqiang on February 11, in a meeting on tackling corruption, but only published by state news agency Xinhua late on Sunday.