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.
Wang Rong , the party secretary of Shenzhen, is favourite for the position. He was seen sitting on the stage with other senior leaders from the province.
The anti-corruption crackdown has hit Guangdong harder than any other province. Some 11,315 cadres from the province, including 95 department-level officials, have been investigated. In 2013, only 38 department-level officials were investigated.
Zhu was toppled in November and removed as Guangdong CPPCC chairman in January. Authorities said he was being investigated for "serious violations of party discipline and law". While details of his case are yet to emerge, his relative Chen Jinchang , Dingan county police chief in Hainan province, is also being investigated for graft.
Delegate Yang Zhongyi , professor of ecology and environmental science in Sun Yat-sen University, said he was not surprised to hear Zhu's name mentioned at the ceremony, "given how powerful" the anti-graft campaign had become.
Dr Wang Lizong , a Shenzhen delegate representing high-tech corporations, said the toppling of Zhu would not affect the operation of the CPPCC.
"The atmosphere of this year's congress is fresher in light of the powerful corruption crackdown last year. The CPPCC plenum is no longer filled with empty talk as we are more focused on addressing realistic problems affecting the public's livelihood," Wang said.
Meanwhile Hong Kong comedian Stephen Chow Sing-chi, who is a delegate to the Guangdong CPPCC, nearly stole the show as reporters chased him for interviews and fellow delegates sought photo opportunities.
Chow dodged a question about what he could do in the face of worsening relations between Hong Kong and the mainland following Occupy Central. Instead he chose to answer a question that helped him to highlight his concern over air and water quality.
In January 2010, the former provincial CPPCC chairman Chen Shaoji , known as the "King of South China" for his massive political network in Guangdong, was absent from the annual congress.
In July that year he was given a suspended death sentence - a punishment that usually translates to life imprisonment with good behaviour.
