Chinese religion official in corruption spotlight ‘in aftermath of mosque demolition protest’
- Gao Zhenyu in detention less than a year after rally in Ningxia forces authorities to call off plans to destroy building
Gao Zhenyu, 61, head of the Religious and Ethnic Affairs Commission in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, was under investigation for alleged “serious violations of law and discipline”, the Communist Party’s anticorruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said on Monday.
A source said Gao, who was also a Standing Committee member of the Ningxia People’s Political Consultative Conference, was purged for alleged corruption and his handling of a mass protest against the proposed demolition of Weizhou’s grand mosque in August.
The source said investigators sent by Beijing found Gao’s handling of the protests unacceptable.
“The inspection team sent by Beijing clearly were not satisfied with how Ningxia handled the matter and [they thought] Gao and his team should have stood firm on political discipline,” the source said.
Gao is understood to be the first religious affairs official to come under investigation for corruption this year.