The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) has warned a senior official against
lobbying to be reelected as a member of the Shaanxi provincial CPC standing committee.
The CCDI is the Party's anti-graft watchdog and the warning is
part of Beijing's moves to strengthen supervision to ensure the
nationwide provincial elections for the new term are open and
fair.
The same words of caution were also issued by the Organization
Department of the CPC Central Committee, which is responsible for
appointing officials.
Shaanxi's deputy governor, Li Tangtang, 53, allegedly called or
sent messages to eight people in the provincial government asking
them to vote for him. The eight then persuaded 50-odd people to
vote for Li in the coming election to the provincial CPC standing
committee.
Li is the highest-ranking official to be warned for misconduct.
A CCDI statement denounced Li as being a bad example and urged
officials at all levels to learn a lesson from him and not think
about following in his footsteps.?
The Organization Department circulated notices, detailing 121
cases of discipline violation during last month's elections. It
denounced 192 people and revoked the illegal appointments of 613
others.
The CCDI and the Organization Department issued a statement last
May saying they'd do everything possible to maintain a fair
election environment. People found canvassing for votes or bribing
people to gain support would be punished or sacked, it said.
Li was elected deputy governor of Shaanxi only last April.
Previously he was the deputy mayor of Baoji, his hometown in the
province, and was then moved to Xianyang before being promoted to
his present post.
A professor of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee,
Liu Chun, said Li was condemned in time to deter others from doing
the same. "The condemnation has sent a clear signal that no
disciplinary violation will be tolerated," said Liu.
Addressing CCDI's annual work meeting in December, President Hu Jintao said that being ethical was vital to
check corruption.
"Moral decay always goes ahead of corruption," said Ye Duchu, a
Party School professor.
(China Daily February 6, 2007)