Former senior officials expelled from CPC

A former senior official from Sichuan province, and another from Anhui, were expelled from the Party on Tuesday.

Li Yuncheng, former vice provincial governor in Sichuan and a member of the provincial Party committee, and Yang Zhenchao, former vice provincial governor in Anhui and a member of the provincial Party committee, have been expelled from the Communist Party of China, and removed from public office for embezzlement and abusing powers.

As announced by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Li, the 61-year-old ex-governor of Sichuan, violated the Party's organizational discipline by jeopardizing inspections and refusing to disclose relevant information.

He also illegally possessed unlisted company shares and took advantage of his positions to seek benefits for others in exchange for bribes, the statement said.

Li joined the Party in 1975 as a rice paddy technician and spent most of his political career in Sichuan. He was promoted to the position of vice governor in 2011, but was removed shortly afterward due to investigations regarding violations of Party discipline.

In April 2016, CCDI announced that Li had "seriously violated" Party discipline and was subject to investigation. Two months later, the CPC Central Committee said in the statement that despite being a senior official, Li has lost his belief and violated the Party's code of conduct in a serious manner.

Yang from Anhui, 56, violated the Party's political and organizational discipline by refusing to cooperate in investigations, using public funds for private purposes, manipulating appointments of cadres for personal gain, and accepting bribes and kickbacks, the statement said.

He joined the party in 1983 and was a technocrat with degrees in management, engineering and economics. For nearly two decades, he worked in Anhui's largest State-owned mining enterprise, Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co.

In 2003, Yang's successful career in Tongling catapulted him to Anhui's top provincial government leadership position in charge of overseeing economic development.

By the time of his downfall in May 2016, he ranked as the third most influential out of six Anhui vice provincial governors.

The CCDI previously announced that Yang had "seriously violated" Party discipline. The CPC Central Committee said in the statement that despite being a senior official, Yang had lost his belief and violated the Party's code of conduct in a serious manner.