NewGuangzhou district chief linked to fallen party boss is hauled away for graft probe
Colleagues said to be 'shocked' by Yang Yanwen's disappearance days ago
An associate of disgraced former Guangzhou party boss Wan Qingliang was reportedly taken away for graft probe, a sign that the investigators are widening their net in the southern city.
Yang Yanwen, 51, the party head of Huadu district, was placed under investigation for unspecified reasons, confirmed several independent sources close to the Huadu government. Yang had been unreachable since Saturday, according to a Paper.cn report.
He is the latest senior official to be taken away by the local discipline inspection committee, including Guangzhou’s Communist Party boss Wan Qingliang who was dismissed from his post on June 30 for serious violations to discipline – a term usually referring to graft.
Mainland media said Yang might be implicated in Wan’s case.
As of noon today, Yang’s profile was still on the official website of Huadu government and was still listed as its party secretary.
However, two officials from Huadu’s propaganda and discipline inspection office, who refused to give their names, told the South China Morning Post that many in the Huadu administration felt shocked when they heard Yang had been taken away for investigation.
"I can’t say it’s a fake news, but we have no idea about Yang’s current situation. We know as little as [the] media,” said a female official from the propaganda office of Huadu.