The brother of a former top Chinese presidential aide has been expelled from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and public office, the Chinese government said on Friday, paving the way for his prosecution for alleged violations, such as accepting bribes.
Ling Zhengce (令政策), the former deputy head of the parliamentary advisory body in China’s Shanxi Province, is the elder brother of Ling Jihua (令計畫), a one-time senior aide to former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
Ling Zhengce allegedly violated rules of self-discipline by accepting monetary gifts and exploiting his position, besides seeking benefits for relatives, China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said.
“In addition to this, Ling Zhengce’s behavior interfered with and hindered organizational investigation,” the anti-graft watchdog said on its Web site.
Authorities announced an investigation into Ling Zhengce in June last year.
The latest move to eject him from the CCP and strip him of his official post is a necessary procedural step in passing the case to judicial authorities for prosecution.
Ling Jihua was demoted in September 2012 after sources said his son was involved in a deadly crash involving a luxury sports car, an embarrassment for the party, which is sensitive to perceptions that children of top officials live rich, privileged lifestyles.
Authorities last month announced that he would face prosecution after an investigation revealed crimes that they alleged damaged the party’s image, such as receiving money and gifts from unnamed people, having affairs with numerous women and trading power for sex.
Party members can be punished for adultery as they are supposed to be upstanding members of society. The charge is frequently leveled at high-ranking graft suspects as a way of showing they are morally degenerate and deserve punishment.
Ling Jihua’s case has presented a dilemma for Beijing; his position is particularly sensitive because of his close connection with Hu.
Since assuming power in late 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平), who doubles as party and military chief, has pursued a relentless campaign against deep-rooted corruption, vowing to go after powerful “tigers” as well as lowly “flies.”
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique