China's discipline inspectors target ivory tower corruption

Eight officials of the Communication University of China were punished on Tuesday for violating austerity code, marking a new round of anti-graft probes in the education sector.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) dispatched a team of inspectors to the Ministry of Education on Oct. 31 to expose corruption and loopholes in Party management and administrative work.

China's latest anti-corruption campaign was launched in late 2012 during the 18th CPC National Congress. Since then, the ministry has demanded clean and honest university administration, but corruption remains serious.

In the beginning of the year, the CCDI reported violations by officials at five universities on five consecutive days.

As in one case, Zeng Weikuan, former secretary of the CPC committee at Chongqing Water Resources and Electric Engineering College in southwest China, was accused of violating CPC rules by accepting money and seeking profits for others, illegally holding stakes in companies, and adultery.

Top university officials are prone to corruption as school administrators hold a lot of power without adequate supervision, said Zhu Lijia, professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance.

According to incomplete statistics, the CCDI has named 32 officials at higher-learning institutions in 2015, including 12 suspected of severe disciplinary violations and 20 for suspected violations of Party rules and the law.

Violators have been expelled from the CPC and removed from public office following investigation, and their cases have been transferred to judicial organs. Endi