Corruption casts shadow over Guangdong congress
Scandals that brought down chairman and others loom large at advisory body's annual congress
The opening of Guangdong's annual political advisory congress yesterday was overshadowed by corruption scandals including one that brought down its chairman Zhu Mingguo last November.
The meeting in Guangzhou began with a roll call that noted 12 delegates had been removed from the provincial Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference for violating party discipline.
It was the second time in five years that the provincial CPPCC had been forced to open its annual congress without a chairman. The meeting itself had been delayed from its original start date of January 23 by organisers citing "operational reasons".
In the absence of the chairman, vice-chairman Liang Weifa delivered the annual work report.
"In the past year, the work of the provincial CPPCC reached new levels of achievement, especially in light of the negative impact caused by Zhu Mingguo, who severely violated party discipline and broke the law," Liang told the congress.
"Under the strong leadership of the Guangdong Communist Party committee, we have been able to stay away from ideological chaos while maintaining a united and progressive team with continuous achievement that should not be taken for granted."
The four-day plenum is expected to appoint a new chairman on Tuesday.