Rising communist star blasts Chinese party bigwig netted in vote-buying scandal
Head of rust-belt province says predecessor disregarded the party’s authority
The top Communist Party official in Liaoning lashed out on Sunday at his disgraced predecessor, accusing him of disregarding the party’s authority in a massive legislative vote-buying scandal.
The attack by Li Xi, 60, party boss of the rust-belt northern province, on former Liaoning chief Wang Min confirmed an exclusive report by the South China Morning Post in early October.
In an unprecedented move, the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, dismissed 45 of roughly 100 of its members from Liaoning after they were implicated in the vote-buying scandal in August last year.
Most of the lawmakers expelled were prominent businessmen who reportedly bought their way into the national or provincial legislatures before or during personnel reshuffles in late 2012 and early 2013, when Wang was head of the province and its legislature.
Sources in Liaoning told the Post that top party leaders in Beijing were enraged when the widespread vote-buying meant the party’s favoured candidates fail to win legislative seats in 2013.