{"id":156001,"date":"2013-05-12T22:30:26","date_gmt":"2013-05-13T05:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=156001"},"modified":"2013-05-12T22:43:26","modified_gmt":"2013-05-13T05:43:26","slug":"economic-policymaker-probed-for-violations-of-discipline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2013\/05\/economic-policymaker-probed-for-violations-of-discipline\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Official Probed for “Violations of Discipline”"},"content":{"rendered":"
China’s anti-corruption watchdog said Sunday that it had opened a probe into the affairs of a top economic policy official<\/strong><\/a>, Liu Tienan, about six months after an investigative journalist publicly accused him of various wrongdoings. From the South China Morning Post:<\/p>\n A one-line Xinhua dispatch yesterday quoted unnamed officials within the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) as saying that Liu Tienan, the 58-year-old deputy director of the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), was being investigated, but it gave no details.<\/p>\n Sources close to the matter said Liu was formally placed under investigation yesterday and that his home and office were searched by CCDI officials on Saturday night.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n Liu’s case was first announced on December 6 on the microblog account of a deputy editor of news magazine Caijing. Luo Changping reported on his verified Sina Weibo account a series of allegations against Liu, including that he fabricated academic credentials, improperly profited from his position and kept a mistress.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n Liu made several public appearances in the following couple of weeks, including at a national working conference on development and reform on December 18. However, a source familiar with the case told the Post that Liu had been barred since mid-December from attending official activities related to external affairs.<\/p>\n [Source]<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Liu becomes the second vice-ministerial-level official to be targeted by new president Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign<\/a>, after the deputy party secretary of Sichuan province was placed under investigation in December<\/a>. The announcement did not mention any specific allegations against Liu, who served as director of the National Energy Administration (NEA) until being replaced in March.<\/p>\n The NEA’s press office initially had called the allegations against Liu as “pure slander,”<\/a> according to Gillian Wong of the Associated Press. Luo Changping, the journalist who initiated a public campaign against Liu last year, told The New York Times that he believed the official allegations were related to his own<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cI know there\u2019s a direct connection, but I can\u2019t say any more,\u201d Mr. Luo said in a telephone interview.<\/p>\n \u201cI had felt panicky before because nothing was happening, but I\u2019ve breathed a sigh of relief now that this has happened,\u201d he said, referring to the inquiry.<\/p>\n