Chinese anti-corruption blitz snares another senior official
- The detention of Guangxi vice-chairman Liu Hongwu comes ahead of the annual meeting of the country’s top anti-corruption agency
- This week also saw a former senior security official being charged with bribery and a city’s former Communist Party boss admitting to corruption
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Communist Party’s top disciplinary watchdog, said on Friday that Liu Hongwu, 56, vice-chairman of the southern region of Guangxi, had been detained on suspicion of “serious violations of discipline and the law” – an euphemism for corruption.
The first indication of his downfall happened on Wednesday when his name disappeared from the government’s official website, according to a Guangxi official.
Liu spent his entire career in Guangxi, serving in various leading positions in the Guangxi Development and Reform Commission and being made the region’s vice-chairman in July 2020.
News of his detention came ahead of the CCDI’s annual work conference, which is usually held in the last w eek of January – a time when the detention and trial of senior officials is often announced.