Chinese officials face disciplinary action after ignoring six direct orders from Xi Jinping
- Officials in Shaanxi province reportedly failed to act on six separate instructions to tear down illegal villas built in nature reserve
- One senior official is under investigation for possible serious violations of the law, with sources saying more will be caught up in investigation
A disciplinary storm is sweeping through the northwestern Chinese province of Shaanxi with many senior officials expected to be put under investigation for corruption and dereliction of duty after they ignored direct orders from President Xi Jinping, according to official media reports.
The case centres on 40 illegal villas built in a nature reserve in the Qinling mountains, a well-known area of natural beauty that is regarded as a cradle of the Han Chinese people.
Shaanxi Daily reported that Xi had told the local government on six separate occasions to tear down the villas because the development was damaging the environment, but the authorities in the provincial capital Xian continued to drag their feet.
Even though work on the development began in March 2012, nothing was done until Beijing sent in an inspection squad last year. The villas were finally torn down in August this year.
Qian Yinan, secretary general of the provincial party’s standing committee, has been detained by the State Commission for Discipline Inspection, the country’s top anti-corruption agency, which said on Thursday he was being investigated for “serious violations of the law”.