China confirms Fujian veteran as province’s acting governor

Long-serving Fujian official Yu Weiguo has been confirmed as the province’s acting governor, filling a vacancy left by a cadre sacked last month over alleged corruption.

The South China Morning Post reported on Sunday that Yu was tipped to take on the job. The Standing Committee of the Fujian people’s congress confirmed the appointment, the Fujian Radio and Television Network reported on Thursday.

Yu, 60, previously a deputy party chief of the coastal province, takes over from Su Shulin, who moved to the province from state oil giant Sinopec in 2011.

READ MORE: China’s low-profile Communist Party stalwart Yu Weiguo tipped as next governor of Fujian

Su, 53, was one of the country’s youngest governors and was regarded as a rising star. He was sacked from the post for alleged corruption last month, 10 days after Beijing’s anti-graft chief Wang Qishan visited the province. Su was the first incumbent governor to be investigated in President Xi Jinping’s signature anti-graft campaign.

Anti-corruption inspectors alleged that Su helped a relative’s company secure contracts for a Sinopec oil depot project in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone in Hainan province. The company then outsourced the project to a Sinopec subsidiary for a profit, media outlet Caixin reported.

The oil industry, the power base of disgraced security tsar Zhou Yongkang, became a major target of Xi’s anti-graft campaign. A handful of senior officials who had worked in the industry, including Zhou, were sacked for alleged corruption.