Daily special: Top NDRC official embroiled in corruption scandal

A ministry-level official is under investigation for alleged "serious disciplinary violations," the central disciplinary organ revealed, which was seen as a formal response five months after a journalist openly accused him of corruption.

Liu Tienan, 58, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), is being investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China, reported the Xinhua News Agency.

Allegations of corruption against Liu surfaced last year when Luo Changping, deputy editor-in-chief of Caijing Magazine, posted three Weibo entries on December 6, claiming that Liu was involved in several illegal acts.

Luo declined to make any further comments on Sunday before the official investigation results are released. He did say however that he is planning to reveal some details about his reporting of Liu's case via a public account on WeChat, a social networking app for smartphones.

According to Luo's entries, Liu fabricated a master's degree in economics from Nagoya City University in Japan, colluded with a businessman named Ni Ritao to defraud loans from Chinese banks for an investment in Canada, and received bribes from Ni through his wife and son. Liu also allegedly sent death threats to a former mistress.

When Luo made his accusations online, Liu was also the director of the National Energy Administration (NEA). The press office of the NEA dismissed the accusations four hours later as "pure slander" and stated that they were reporting it to the police. The controversy occurred while Liu was reported to be in Russia accompanying Wang Qishan,  chief of the CCDI, to engage in bilateral energy cooperation negotiations.

Luo said in January that he never received a lawyer's letter from the NEA and had been cooperating with the investigation. The NEA did not post any further statements and was unreachable for comment on Sunday.

Liu made only a few public appearances since Luo's claims were made public. In mid-March, after the "two sessions," Wu Xinxiong, former chairman of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, took the reins of the NEA, and Liu kept his other position as deputy director of the NDRC, in charge of regulating industry and the economy.

Liu is believed to be the highest-ranking official under disciplinary investigation based on tips from individuals who gave their real names, and according to experts, his case reflects the  administration's determination to combat graft.

Ma Huaide, vice president of the China University of Political Science and Law, said that this example of whistle-blowing online shows the public's enthusiasm for supervising the government. "But a systematic mechanism is needed to evaluate authenticity of this kind of information, and to encourage and protect whistleblowers in order to effectively push efforts to combat graft."

However, a source with the NDRC who asked to remain anonymous, told the Global Times that apart from fighting corruption, Liu's case also exposed issues in the country's development and reform system, which is influential in terms of the country's economic policy.

"The immature legal and supervision system creates big spaces for rent-seeking for officials with discretion powers and developers who want approvals for their projects. Liu's case is a serious warning regarding the current operating mechanisms," he said.

Chinese citizens can report Party members and officials for illegal acts via mail, phone, the Internet or in person.

"You receive a reference number to track the progress of the case, and the authorities can reach you for necessary assistance if you leave detailed contact information," Li Xinde, a whistleblower who had made reports under his real name to the CCDI, told the Global Times.