Former senior provincial legislator expelled from CPC for extravagance

A former senior legislator in south China's Hainan Province has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) for extravagance and accepting bribes, the central anti-graft authority said Thursday.

The CPC's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Thursday publicized six cases involving individuals who had violated the "Eight-point regulations" on frugal lifestyles. One case concerned Zhang Lifu, former deputy head of the Standing Committee of the Hainan Provincial People's Congress.

The CCDI said in a notice that from 2013 to 2014, in defiance of regulations, Zhang attended banquets paid for with public funds on six occasions. The banquets cost 57,450 yuan (8,732 U.S. dollars) in total.

From 2013 to 2014, Zhang illegally accepted bribes and gifts worth 276,000 yuan from nine individuals including officials and private businessmen. He also violated the Party's code of conduct.

The CPC Central Committee approved Zhang's expulsion from the Party. He has also been stripped of his position as deputy to Hainan Provincial People's Committee.

Zhang's retirement benefit package has been downgraded from vice-ministerial level to deputy-section level, the same remuneration as a deputy township head.

The authority ordered Zhang to return and compensate the banquet bills, as well as the bribes and gifts he had accepted. Endi