Top officials held in Guangdong graft probe

The chairman of the Guangdong branch of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the former head of the province’s anti-graft operations have been detained on corruption charges, the South China Morning Post reported. CPPCC delegate Chen Shaoji, who was formerly head of the Guangdong police and judiciary, was flown to Beijing at the weekend by officials from the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, sources said. At the same time, Wang Huayuan, who moved from Guangdong three years ago to run anti-graft operations in Zhejiang, was also detained. Both men have been placed under shuanggui, an internal party disciplinary procedure under which suspects are investigated before being turned over to prosecutors. Chen and Wang are the most senior current or former Guangdong officials to have been implicated in corruption in recent years. Police and government sources in the province said Chen did not have a good reputation among officials.