The disciplinary departments have penalized a city mayor in
south China and a number of other officials for gambling, according
to a press conference held Friday afternoon.
Deng Yaohua, former deputy secretary of the Zhaoqing City
Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and mayor of
Zhaoqing in Guangdong
Province, has been removed from his post in the CPC and
expelled from the party. His executive post is being dealt with in
due legal procedure, according to the press conference, jointly
held by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC
and the Chinese Ministry of Supervision.
According to the press conference, Deng made several gambling
trips abroad from 2001 to March 2004.
Wu Huali, former director of the Public Security Bureau of
Huizhou in Guangdong, has been removed from his post for frequently
going abroad on funded gambling trips from January 2002 to March
2004. Further investigation into his case continues.
Yu Changliang, an official of the Housing Resettlement Office of
Jinan in east China's Shandong
Province, has been expelled from the CPC and removed from his
office. The case has been handed over to the judicial
departments.
Yu was found to have embezzled public money and borrowed from
businesses, individuals and financial institutions amounting to 5.6
million yuan (approximately US$674,700) to gamble and repay debts
incurred in gambling.
The press conference also mentioned penalties of two other
officials for their involvement in gambling, namely Cheng Hong,
former deputy director of the personnel and education department of
the Postal Service Bureau of Jintan City, Jiangsu
Province and Wang Furong, former director of a grain supply
center in Rongcheng County, Hebei
Province. Both of them embezzled public money to participate in
gambling activities.
China started to strengthen crackdown on gambling activities
from 2004. Liu Xirong, deputy secretary of the CPC Central
Commission for Discipline Inspection, called on the CPC members to
fully realize the importance of this campaign.
"Spread of such activities induce a few party members and
government functionaries to become corrupt, take bribes and
embezzle public money," Liu said at the press conference. "It will
infringe upon the interests of the state and the people, impair the
image of the party and the government and corrupt the political and
social atmosphere."
He called on various levels of party committees, government and
disciplinary organs to strengthen investigation and penalties of
gambling party members and government officials. In addition, an
effective mechanism should be established to prevent them from
participating in gambling.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2005)