Anti-corruption officials busted for corruption
A string of high-profile corruption cases involving senior officials working for anti-corruption watchdogs prompted Chinese scholars on Thursday to call for a cleaner, stricter hiring process to secure the nation’s anti-graft drive.
Liu Jun, former deputy secretary of the discipline inspection commission of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, was sentenced to nine years in jail for accepting bribes worth more than 20 million yuan ($2.9 million), Capital News, a WeChat account affiliated to Beijing Daily, reported on Thursday.
Liu was the first senior official from the discipline inspection department in the corps arrested for corruption.
On Tuesday, the second intermediate people’s court of Beijing heard the case of Zhang Huawei, a vice-ministerial-level official from the central inspection team, China Central Television reported.
Zhang stands accused of receiving bribes worth more than 32 million yuan between 2006 to 2014. Those who bribed him requested promotions and help with avoiding investigations, the State television station reported.
On Monday, the Commission for Discipline Inspection in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province announced on its website that Hu Chuanxiang, former director of the commission’s anti-corruption office, was under investigation for allegedly violating laws and discipline.
“It’s ironic that an official who works in the anti-corruption department received bribes,” commented an editorial in the Beijingbased daily newspaper Capital News on Wednesday.
“All the cases prove that discipline inspection departments are not a safe and officials working in departments are not immune from corruption.
“They should behave in compliance with higher standards and accept stricter supervision.”
The revelations showed that China’s anti-corruption drive remained “high-handed,” said Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of the research center for government integrity-building at Peking University.
“It’s necessary to put power, including discipline inspection power, into a cage,” Zhuang told the Global Times on Thursday.
Officials working in discipline inspection departments should be selected through a stricter process and should also strengthen their self-education, Zhuang said.