Shanghai corruption probe could claim additional scalps

A corruption probe that brought down Shanghai's top leader is progressing further and others might be implicated, the ruling Communist Party's chief anti-graft official said yesterday.

Chen Liangyu (陳良宇), the party secretary for Shanghai, was dismissed on Monday for alleged corruption and removed from the party's powerful national Politburo. His ouster came as President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) tries to consolidate his power and might have been part of efforts to sideline Hu's potential political rivals.

"As our investigation progresses, we may find other people who were involved," said Gan Yisheng (干以勝), general secretary of the party's Discipline Inspection Commission, at a news conference in Beijing.

"No matter who is involved, we will punish them severely," Gan said in comments shown live on national television. "We exercise zero tolerance toward the violation of regulations and laws."

Chen was the highest Chinese official to be removed in a decade. He was implicated in the possible misuse of money from government pension funds to invest in real estate and other projects.

Chen is accused of aiding illegal businesses, shielding corrupt colleagues, and abusing his position to benefit family members, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Gan, the anti-graft official, wouldn't say who else might be implicated. But he pointed to Chen's case as a sign of the ruling party's determination to stamp out corruption.

Taiwan's China Times yesterday speculated that other politburo members and their family members could also be involved in the corruption case.

Asked about such reports, Gan said that the top leadership was "united in its fight against corruption" and said that people "should not believe rumors but ought to rely on information from official sources."

Asked whether any high-level officials tried to obstruct the Shanghai probe, Gan said, "the investigation is going smoothly, with no problems."

The Shanghai case, which has been under investigation for about two months, is believed to involve more than 4 billion yuan (US$500 million) in money from a city pension fund, Gan told reporters after the news conference.

Shanghai is a bastion of Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin (江澤民), and Chen's removal could be part of a strategy to weaken rivals in the collective leadership for Hu to better position himself.

Hong Kong's mass-market Apple Daily yesterday ran an editorial with the headline, "Is it a crackdown on corruption or a power struggle?"