Sichuan senior official in corruption scrutiny

Li Chuncheng, the deputy party chief of Sichuan province, is under investigation in the most high-level corruption scandal since Xi Jinping became China’s new party secretary last month, BBC News reported. Li, 56, was put under “a disciplinary measure which allows for the detention and interrogation of party members suspected of corruption and other offenses,” according to South China Morning Post. Li was appointed mayor of Chengdu, Sichuan’s capital city, in 2001 and later became the city’s deputy party chief, working under former Standing Committee member Zhou Yangkang. He was appointed to his current position in 2011 and elected an alternate member of the party’s Central Committee in November. Since taking the position of party chief, Xi has highlighted the importance of fighting corruption in his speeches.