Bomb targets Chinese anti-graft official

Liu Haiyun (劉海雲) was about to step outside her family's apartment in northern China to pick up breakfast when the risks of her husband's job as an anti-corruption investigator literally blew up in her face.

A bomb attached to the front door of the fifth-floor apartment in the city of Xingtai exploded, leaving Liu's legs, hands and face severely wounded, state media and officials said yesterday. The blast was so powerful that it ripped iron security doors in the building off their hinges.

The Aug. 19 attack on the home of Li Huisheng (李會生), head of the city's anti-corruption bureau, highlights the perils faced by officials and ordinary Chinese who try to fight the rampant corruption that taints almost every aspect of public life in China.

Attackers range from gangland figures to corrupt officials trying to defend their privileges. Reports of attacks by officials on farmers trying to expose abuses are common.

Li, who wasn't injured in the bombing, gained local popularity for cracking a bribery case involving top city officials, the Oriental Morning Post reported. It said he had recently ordered the local chief prosecutor put under a form of house arrest.

The attack is believed to have been aimed at Li, said a policewoman who requested anonymity.

Police reportedly were questioning each one of Xingtai's 3,000 taxi drivers after a witness saw a man rush from the building and hail a cab just before the explosion.

Police reportedly were questioning each one of Xingtai's 3,000 taxi drivers after a witness saw a man rush from the building and hail a cab just before the explosion.

Staff at the city's No. 3 Hospital, where Liu was first treated, said she had been moved to another facility to ensure her security.

Thousands of officials are punished every year for extortion, embezzlement and other abuses. Some have been executed.

But many leaders appear ambivalent about allowing an all-out attack on graft, especially within the Communist Party.