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Former Shanghai chief expelled from China's communist party
2007-07-26
Former Shanghai leader Chen Liangyu has been expelled from China's ruling Communist Party and dismissed from all government posts over the city's pension fund scandal, state television said Thursday. Chen was branded "morally decadent" and a "philanderer" in the television report, which said he illegally provided huge loans to businessmen and their companies from the 1.25-billion-dollar pension fund. Chen, who is currently in police custody, had abused his post and his power, said the report, citing a decision by the party's central committee. "Chen Liangyu has been expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from all government posts," it said. The former member of the party's elite politburo, was sacked from the city's top political post in September last year for alleged involvement in pilfering the retirement funds. His was the highest-level dismissal over government graft since former Beijing mayor Chen Xitong was removed from his post on corruption charges in 1995 and sentenced to 16 years in jail. The Shanghai case, which saw 480 million dollars of the city's retirement funds illegally siphoned into speculative real estate and road investment projects, has implicated at least 20 other officials and businessmen. Thursday's report said Chen would be dealt with according to the law, making it certain that he will face criminal charges and be tried over his role in the scandal. The report did not say how much money Chen had stolen, but said his dealings had caused huge losses to the state firms by helping businessmen purchase shares in those companies. Chen, 60, allegedly also abused his power for his own personal gain as well as for that of his family and their illegal business activities which received "huge amounts of assets," the report said. Speculation over his likely conviction in the future and what sentence he will receive remains rife in China. A cadre since 1980, the former architecture major became Shanghai's Communist Party chief in late 2002 and has spent his political career in the eastern port city. As chief, he presided over roaring economic growth in the commercial hub, engineering the city's successful bid for the 2010 Expo and inclusion on the Formula One racing calendar. As an ally of retired president Jiang Zemin, Chen's political downfall has been widely attributed to his lack of loyalty to the current central government leadership headed by President Hu Jintao. The Shanghai scandal has also highlighted the rampant corruption within the party, the eradication of which Hu has listed as one of his top priorities. Hu has ramped up the anti-graft campaign ahead of a five-yearly Communist Party congress expected in October or November. However, the demise of Chen has also been widely seen as a move by Hu to rid the government of Jiang allies.
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