China corruption investigation eyes Beijing leaders

United Press International, Oct. 26, 2006 (UPI) —

BEIJING, Oct. 26 (UPI) — A Chinese anti-corruption investigation has focused on party leaders in the capital, sources close to the inquiry said.

The sources told The New York Times the investigation is part of President Hu Jintao’s plans to remove officials he does not regard as loyal, the newspaper said. About 300 investigators from the Communist Party have been analyzing property deals and procurement practices in Beijing since September. The sources said top Chinese leaders have been implicated by the investigation’s findings.

Jia Qinglin, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and a former party secretary in Beijing, and Liu Qi, the current Beijing party secretary and a regular member of the Politburo, are regarded as likely targets of the investigation, the Times said. The removal of one or both of the officials would make the inquiry the most sweeping leadership shakeup since 1989.

Officials in Shanghai, Tianjin, Fujian and Hunan provinces and other locations around the country have been removed from office or arrested in the investigation. Politburo member and Shanghai party chief Chen Liangyu was detained by security forces in September. All parties arrested or removed from office are seen as loyal to former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin or resistant to the policies of Hu.