A tiger down in every province: senior official becomes first in Beijing to be probed for graft

It was finally the turn of the capital to see its first senior official ensnared in President Xi Jinping's relentless anti-corruption crackdown - a day after Shanghai announced that a vice-mayor was being investigated.

The toppling of two senior officials in China's political and economic capitals, on consecutive days, show that Xi's sweeping campaign is not letting up.

Yesterday, the Communist Party's discipline watchdog said Lu Xiwen , the deputy party boss of Beijing municipality, was being probed for "severe disciplinary violations", a euphemism for corruption.

Lu's downfall means that each of China's 31 provincial-level administrative areas now has at least one "tiger" - Xi's metaphor for powerful officials - who has fallen from grace.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) has accelerated its clampdown recently. Five senior officials - three in provincial-level governments and two in state-owned enterprises - were placed under investigation this month.

In the financial industry, more than a dozen powerful figures have been taken away for investigation in recent months, following the meltdown of China's stock market.

The anti-graft campaign launched by Xi three years ago has netted thousands of officials nationwide and tracked scores of others who fled overseas.