Former Xizang Party chief expelled from CPC

Wu Yingjie, a senior member of China's top political advisory body and former Party chief of the Xizang autonomous region, was found to have seriously violated disciplines and laws and seriously affected the high-quality development of Xizang, according to the investigation by the country's top anti-graft watchdogs.

Wu, who is a member of the Standing Committee the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, director of the Committee on Cultural, Historical Data and Studies under the CPPCC National Committee and former Party chief of Xizang, has been expelled from the Party and removed from public positions for disciplinary violations, the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision said in a statement on Tuesday.

Wu, 67, reportedly failed to implement the CPC Central Committee's strategy for governing Xizang in the new era and intervened in engineering projects to allegedly seek personal gain. He seriously affected the high-quality development of Xizang, the statement claimed.

It added that he also reportedly fostered the growth of corruption problems and undermined the political ecology of the region. He allegedly accepted invites to banquets in violation of regulations and gifts and money. He also reportedly used his authority to seek special treatment for his relatives. Furthermore, Wu allegedly treated public power as a tool for personal gain and illegally accepted large sums of money.

What's more, he reportedly failed to truthfully explain issues during disciplinary investigations and inquiries, the statement said.

Wu, a native of Shandong province, began working in 1974 and joined the Party in 1987.

He worked in Xizang from 1974 to 2021, serving in different positions including as the head of the region's education department, the region's deputy chairman and Party chief. From October 2021 to March 2023, he served as the deputy director of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People's Congress.

The commissions noted that they have confiscated Wu's alleged illicit gains and his suspected violations of national laws will be transferred to prosecutors for further criminal review and investigation.

He was placed under the disciplinary and supervisory investigation in June.