Advertisement
Advertisement
Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Ai Baojun, a vice-mayor of Shanghai, is under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Photo: CMP Pictures

Under investigation: Shanghai vice-mayor Ai Baojun becomes city's first 'tiger' caught in anti-corruption spotlight

Vice-mayor and free-trade zone boss Ai Baojun becomes metropolis' first senior official to fall in nationwide anti-corruption campaign

Ai Baojun, a vice-mayor of Shanghai, has become the first city-level official in the mainland's largest metropolis to be investigated by the Communist Party's anti-graft body as part of a nationwide crackdown.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced on Tuesday that Ai, 55, was being investigated for disciplinary violations - a stock euphemism for corruption - without providing details.

A source close to local investigators in Ai's case told the that the vice-mayor was suspected of economic crimes and the probe had taken several months.

Read more: Full coverage of the anti-corruption campaign

The investigation of Ai, who was also a chief of the city's free-trade zone (FTZ), ended a guessing game on who would be the first disgraced "tiger" - or powerful official - in Shanghai, after a two-month investigation by the party's graft-busters between July and September last year.

At that time, CCDI chief Wang Qishan promised zero tolerance of corruption. Wang's remarks heightened expectations of a fruitful crackdown on unethical officials in Shanghai, a power base of former president Jiang Zemin .

Government sources said Shanghai officials were apprehensive about the two-month investigations last year as the CCDI's move could stir up a hornet's nest of political and graft scandals.

The investigation of Ai followed initial findings by a CCDI advance team who were deployed with local police with experience in dealing with economic crimes, the source said.

The latter probe uncovered Ai's alleged wrongdoings during his tenure at Baosteel Group, one of China's biggest steelmakers.

"Strong evidence [of Ai's wrongdoings] was collected before June but it is not known why it took so long to make the announcement," the source said.

Shanghai Communist Party boss Han Zheng told local officials yesterday that Ai's disciplinary breaches were a "painful" lesson and that every city official should strictly follow the policy lines of the state leadership.

Hu Xingdou, a professor of economics at Beijing Institute of Technology, said: "People believe corruption exists everywhere in the country and that Shanghai, as an economic hub, can be no exception. Based on the public announcements, the number of officials found to be corrupt does not appear to be enough to convince people that the anti-corruption campaign has been successful."

It was highly expected that some heads would roll in Shanghai and Beijing.

Read more: Shanghai Free Trade Zone ex-boss Dai Haibo faces formal graft probe

Almost all other provincial areas reported that at least one or two senior officials were under investigation since President Xi Jinping came to office.

The investigation of Ai leaves Beijing as the only provincial-level administrative area that has yet to see the downfall of a senior official.

Ai is the second senior official at Shanghai's FTZ to be investigated. Dai Haibo, the zone's former executive deputy director, is also being investigated for graft.

Ai is the highest-ranking Shanghai official to fall since former Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu was jailed for 18 years in 2008 for graft.

Post