Photo: VCG

Two senior officials from the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were expelled on Tuesday from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and removed from public office over serious violations and suspected bribery, according to the country's anti-graft watchdog.

Li Zaiyong and Zhu Congjiu, two sub-ministerial level officials who served as vice chairmen of the CPPCC provincial committees in Southwest China's Guizhou and East China's Zhejiang, respectively, were put under investigation in March and May.

According to the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Commission of Supervision, the investigation found that Li, who has served in multiple cities in Guizhou, had engaged in many vanity projects that wasted public resources and willfully conducted debt financing, resulting in significant debt risks, as well as severe damage to the local ecological environment.

The investigation found that Zhu, who once served as Party head at the Shanghai Stock Exchange and deputy governor of Zhejiang Province, had made unfounded comments on the central government's major policies and brought prohibited books back to China for long-term reading.

Both Li and Zhu were found to have accepted invitations to "banquets and tourism activities that could affect official duties." They also received gifts and property, and used their position to obtain benefits, according to the authorities.

According to information published on CCDI's official website, 55 officials have been undergoing review and investigation in October and 44 officials have been removed from the CPC or from public office.

Disciplinary organs of the CPC handled about 10,160 cases of violations of the eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct in September, with more than 14,482 people punished, said CCDI on October 30.

Global Times