Chinese prosecutors on Tuesday filed bribery charges against two senior officials, as the ruling Communist Party’s elite holds a closed-door meeting on party conduct.
He Jiacheng, Former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Governance, which essentially serves as a government-run think tank, and Lyu Xiwen, Former Deputy Party Chief of Beijing, were accused of accepting bribes.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate said that the accused sought illegal benefits for others.
China’s most senior Communist Party leaders were holding talks in Beijing that could set the tone for the rest of President Xi Jinping’s tenure.
The four-day plenum of the party’s Central Committee which began on Monday is aimed at improving party discipline and supervision.
Since Xi came to power in 2012, more than one million officials have been punished for corruption.
The campaign ostensibly aims to take on corrupt officials in both high and low positions, and has lasted longer and struck at a more senior level than many analysts expected.
The most senior political figure to be tried so far is Zhou Yongkang, the Former Head of China’s security apparatus.
He was handed a life sentence on June 11, 2015, for accepting bribes, abuse of power and deliberately disclosing state secrets.
Some observers said the anti-corruption drive has been used by Xi to purge political rivals.
He is widely expected to serve another five-year term as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.
—