A deputy head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office is being investigated for suspected “serious discipline violations,” the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog said yesterday, using the normal euphemism for corruption.
The brief statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection gave no other details of the probe into Taiwan Affairs Office Deputy Director Gong Qinggai (龔清概).
Taiwan is a highly sensitive issue for Beijing. China considers Taiwan a wayward province, to be brought under Beijing’s control by force if needed.
Gong, 57, is from the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian.
He joined the Taiwan Affairs Office, which is in charge of China’s relations with Taiwan, in 2013, having previously spent his entire working career with the Fujian government, according to his official biography.
It was not possible to reach him for comment.
Dozens of senior officials have been jailed for corruption since Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) assumed office three years ago and launched a renewed push against the problem, warning it was so severe it could affect the party’s grip on power.
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