2 ex-top figures under review

Two former top officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs are now under accountability checks for failing to perform their duties, the top graft watchdog confirmed on Monday.

Wang Qishan, head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the country’s top graft-buster, said in December that two senior officials would be held responsible because there had been large-scale corruption in the department they led.

The remarks last month sparked wide public speculation and rumors that the two officials are former Civil Affairs minister Li Liguo and deputy minister Dou Yupei.

While answering a media inquiry about it on Monday, Luo Dongchuan, a senior official with the commission, said “some relevant leaders” from the ministry are now placed under discipline inspections. Once the facts are clear, they will be given disciplinary punishments, and the case will be made public in a timely manner, he said.

The Communist Party of China enacted an accountability regulation in July 2016 that makes Party officials responsible for serious consequences caused by negligence or poor work performance.

Li was removed from the Civil Affairs Minister position on Nov 7 at age 63. The standard retirement age for a minister in China is 65. Dou was removed on Nov 15, the government said.