Former deputy general manager of China Energy expelled from Communist Party for violation of discipline, laws

Li Dong, former deputy general manager of the China Energy Investment Corporation (China Energy), has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) citing serious violations of discipline and laws, Chinese State media reported. The punishment was announced on Wednesday in an official statement by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision.

The top anti-graft organisation of the country conducted an inquiry and discovered that Li, who was also a former member of the company's elite Party members group, had lost touch with his political conscience and values, as per Xinhua. Xinhua News Agency, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China.

He obstructed inquiries into his issues and disregarded the central Party leadership's eight-point decree on enhancing Party and government behaviour by going to banquets, accepting invitations to travel and play golf, and receiving cash and gifts in violation of the law. The statement accused Li of breaking applicable regulations by holding shares in specific non-listed companies, neglecting to report his personal information in line with the requirements, and meddling in job promotions for his own personal gain.

It was also found that he had illegally accepted large sums of money and property in exchange for using his posts to further his own commercial ventures and sell goods for profit. According to the statement, Li's illicit gains will be seized and his case will be forwarded to prosecutors for examination and prosecution proceedings.

Li Dong's expulsion came just a few days after China revealed two new chiefs of its People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, in a surprise shake-up that has raised doubts about the inner workings of the military unit in charge of the country's strong arsenal of nuclear and ballistic missiles. State media on Monday reported that, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has named Wang Houbin as commander of the Rocket Force and Xu Xisheng as political commissar of the force.

The Chinese state media has not mentioned any information about the previous chief Li Yuchao, a veteran of the force who had only served as commander since the beginning of 2022, a fairly short tenure, and prior commissar Xu Zhongbo, as per CNN. Experts say it is rare to replace two top individuals in the Rocket Force in one sweep with military personalities from outside the branch, as Wang comes from the navy and Xu Xisheng from the air force. It also comes just a week after China's previous foreign minister, Qin Gang, was abruptly and dramatically removed from his post without explanation. (ANI)