China to prosecute former graft buster for suspected corruption

Contact is taking a holiday!

Contact is taking a break after 25 years of bringing you news of Tibet and Tibetan issues. We are celebrating our 25 years by bringing you the story of Contact and the people who have made it happen, and our archive is still there for you to access at any time, and below you can read the story of Contact, how it came into being and the wonderful reflections of the people who have made it happen over the years.

When and how Contact will re-emerge and evolve will be determined by those who become involved.

April 15, 2016;

REUTERS, 14 April 2016

A former senior Chinese provincial official overseeing graft busting efforts will himself be prosecuted for suspected corruption after an investigation found he took more than $200,000 in bribes and gifts, state media said on Thursday.

Fang Keyou had been a deputy head in the eastern province of Anhui of the graft inspection teams Beijing has sent out across the country as part of President Xi Jinping’s war on deep-seated corruption, the official Xinhua news agency said.

But an investigation found he himself had been engaging in corrupt practices, including covering up the corruption of others, fraud, extortion and taking more than 1.4 million yuan ($215,900) in bribes and gifts, Xinhua said.

Fang has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and his case handed over the legal authorities, the report added, meaning he will be prosecuted.

It was not possible to reach Fang for comment and unclear if he has retained a lawyer. The party, which controls the country’s legal system, has repeatedly insisted it can tackle China’s corruption problem internally, ruling out establishing any sort of independent graft-fighting body.

China has jailed dozens of senior officials since Xi launched a sweeping campaign against graft after assuming office more than three years ago, vowing to go after powerful “tigers” as well as lowly “flies”. ($1 = 6.4841 Chinese yuan renminbi)