A top official at iconic Chinese state-owned liquor maker Moutai has been snared in the country’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign, the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-graft body said yesterday.
Kweichow Moutai Group (貴州茅台集團) deputy general manager Fang Guoxing (房國興) is under investigation for serious violations of discipline, the Central Committee for Discipline Inspection said on its Web site.
The expression almost always refers to corruption, although the one-sentence announcement gave no further details.
POLITICAL POST
While Fang was not among the company’s top executives, he was formerly party boss of the city of Renhuai, Guizhou Province, where the firm is located and with whom it maintained a close relationship.
It was not clear whether the allegations stemmed from Fang’s role at Moutai, or from his term as Renhuai party boss from 2006 to last year, during which the city was rocked by unrest tied to building demolitions and land disputes.
NATIONAL DRINK
A fiery spirit distilled from sorghum and wheat, Moutai is considered China’s national drink and is a staple at government and military functions.
That has placed it among the symbols of government excess and corruption, characterized by lavish entertaining at taxpayer expense.
Critics say it is also a tool of corruption because cases are sold at a discount to officials who then sell them onward for a profit.
CRACKDOWN
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has cracked down on such practices, and a campaign against extravagance and corruption now well into its second year has sent shockwaves through the 86.7 million-member party.
More than 74,000 of its members have been punished for extravagance during the campaign that formally ended in September, but has continued to claim scalps.
A former top general and a former member of the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee are among the highest-level officials targeted.
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