Chinese official’s fetish for orchids and political gossip books lands him in criminal hot water
Wang Xiaoguang is being investigated for a range of alleged offences, including using government funds to renovate his home
A Chinese official was sacked from his senior provincial job and expelled from the Communist Party because he was “addicted” to orchids and banned foreign books on politics, according to the country’s top anti-graft body.
The National Supervisory Commission released footage late on Thursday of former Guizhou vice-governor Wang Xiaoguang, 57, being stripped of his party membership and handed over to prosecutors for a criminal investigation.
“I have not been able to uphold my beliefs and ideals, my values have become distorted, I have decayed politically ... I have committed deep sin and have only myself to blame for all these,” Wang said in the video.
Besides facing the usual charges of graft, Wang violated party discipline governing the lifestyles of its members through his fetish for cultivating orchids, the commission said, without detailing how Wang pursued his passion for the plant.
Orchids have traditionally been a symbol of a gentleman in China but in recent years collectors have paid more than a million yuan (US$146,000) for rare species.