The deputy Party secretary of Shandong Province has been sacked
and is being investigated for "serious discipline violation."
Du Shicheng, 56, has also been stripped of his post of secretary
of the Municipal Party Committee of Qingdao, a coastal city in
Shandong, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for
Discipline Inspection is investigating the case, it said.
The commission found clues of Du's malpractice after receiving
reports from the public, the report said, without elaborating.
Du, a native of Shandong, spent most of his political career in
the province and rose quickly through the ranks.
He worked about two years as a commune teacher in Huangxian
County before joining the CPC in December 1972.
He moved up from deputy secretary of a local commune to the
Party secretary of Huangxian County.
He was elevated to the post of vice-governor of Shandong in
1995. In 2003, he was promoted to Qingdao Party chief after acting
as a deputy secretary for three years.
Yan Qijun, president of the Shandong Federation of Trade Unions,
has been appointed new Party chief of Qingdao.
Shandong's gross domestic product (GDP), which ranks second only
after southern Guangdong Province, reached 1.02 trillion yuan
(US$127.5 billion) in the first half of 2006, a year-on-year growth
of 15.3 percent.
Qingdao is a key port and co-host city of the sailing events in
the 2008 Olympic Games.
The city is also home to renowned Chinese brands such as
appliance manufacturer "Haier" and "Tsingtao Beer."
Du's sacking is another signal of the central government's tough
stand against corruption, according to Xinhua.
Earlier this month, Beijing's former vice-mayor Liu Zhihua, who
was sacked in June for corruption, was expelled from the CPC.
In September, Shanghai Party chief Chen Liangyu was sacked for
alleged involvement in the 10 billion yuan (US$1.27 billion)
security fund scandal, becoming the highest ranking official to
fall in the latest anti-corruption drive.
(China Daily December 25, 2006)