Top Chinese media executive in Communist Party’s corruption spotlight
- Dai Zigeng, former publisher of popular daily The Beijing News, has been accused of ‘serious violations of discipline and law’
A high-profile Chinese media executive is under investigation over alleged violations of Communist Party discipline – a euphemism for corruption, according to a party graft watchdog.
The discipline inspection commission of the party’s Beijing branch announced on Monday that Dai Zigeng, 56, the former publisher of The Beijing News, was being investigated for alleged “serious violations of discipline and law”.
Dai is the general manager and deputy secretary of the party committee of Beijing Cultural Investment and Development Group, a state-owned investment and management services company.
He helped found The Beijing News, one of China’s most popular news outlets, in 2003, becoming the party official serving as the news outlet’s publisher.
The newspaper was a joint venture between state-run Guangming Daily and Southern Media Group, the Guangdong-based owner of the once-liberal Southern Weekly, also known as the Southern Weekend.
Dai worked at Guangming Daily before starting The Beijing News.