A string of cases have been unearthed during an all-out campaign
against corruption involving pension funds in Shanghai.
Qin Yu, head of Baoshan District, is being investigated for
alleged misuse of public funds, according to the Shanghai Municipal
Discipline Inspection Commission.
Qin is the second senior city official under investigation after
Zhu Junyi, director of the Shanghai Municipal Labor and Social
Security Bureau, was reportedly found to have misappropriated 3.2
billion yuan (US$400 million) in public funds.
Qin was elected head of Baoshan District on July 25 after
serving as deputy director of the general office of the Shanghai
municipal government and secretary to the Shanghai mayor, according
to Caijing Magazine.
Qin's photo and other personal information have been removed
from the Baoshan District government website.
An investigation team of more than 100 people from Beijing has
reportedly arrived in Shanghai to probe corruption cases involving
pension funds.
Three top officials from the Shanghai Electric Group, China's
largest power gear manufacturer, have resigned after an
investigation into the misuse of pension funds, according to an
announcement on the company's website.
But the firm said in a recent statement that the investigation
had not affected its operations.
Zhang Rongkun, chairman of Fuxi Investment Holding Co, is also
under investigation for alleged involvement in pension fund
misappropriation.
Zhang owned an 8.15 percent share in the Hong Kong-listed
Shanghai Electric Group.
Zhang was listed as China's 16th richest man by Forbes
magazine in 2005, with an estimated fortune of 4.9 billion yuan
(US$612 million).
On August 18, Chen Liangyu, secretary of the Shanghai municipal
Party committee, called on government officials to combat
corruption and honestly perform their duties.
He also warned that government officials should be accountable
and observe the code of conduct.
Shanghai reported 1,499 commercial bribery cases involving more
than 200 million yuan (US$25 million) from January 2001 to April
2006. Seventy-four cases involved government officials, according
to local media.
In another development, the Standing Committee of the Provincial
People's Congress of Anhui Province dismissed He Minxu from his
post as vice governor yesterday.
A brief statement from the congress gave no reason for his
sacking.
He, 51, had been questioned on suspicion of accepting bribes by
the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist
Party of China (CPC), the CPC's anti-corruption body, according to
a report in the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald
in July.
But the report was not confirmed by other sources.
He was previously secretary of the municipal Party committees of
Lishui in Zhejiang Province and Chizhou in Anhui.
He was appointed vice governor of Anhui in June 2005.
(China Daily August 26, 2006)