Ji Wenlin, then mayor of Haikou city, speaks at the opening ceremony of a yatch race in Haikou, Hainan province March 20, 2011.
Ji Wenlin, a senior Chinese official with links to former security czar Zhou Yongkang, is being investigated for “suspected serious violation of discipline and laws,” says the Communist Party’s disciplinary body.
The probe is part of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption, which has long been rumored to investigate Zhou, after several of his associates were scrutinized. A charge against the former member of the Communist Party’s top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, would send shockwaves through the elite establishment.
Now the vice-governor of Hainan province, Ji previously worked with Zhou in various positions under the Land Resource Ministry, the Sichuan party Secretariat and the Ministry of Public Security.
The ongoing crackdown is meant to stave off the corruption that Xi says could topple the Communist Party. However, analysts say public trials against top political leaders also risk hurting the organization’s standing.
[BBC]