Former national railway chief, provincial legislator expelled from Party

Two senior officials were expelled from the Communist Party of China over serious violations of Party disciplines and national laws, and their cases and illegal gains will be transferred to procuratorates for prosecution, said the country's top anti-graft bodies on Monday.

Sheng Guangzu, former chief of the leading Party members group and general manager of China Railway Corporation, which is now known as China State Railway Group, has been expelled from the Party, according to a statement issued by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission on Monday.

It said Sheng had lost his ideals and convictions, engaged in superstitious activities and interfered with investigations into him.

He attended banquets and accepted travel arrangements, gifts and money that may have affected the impartial performance of his duties.

Sheng also capitalized on his public power in the customs and railway systems to seek profits for himself, assisted others in running companies and contracting projects, and accepted huge amounts of money and property in return.

Sheng, 73, a native of Jiangsu province, began working in 1968 and worked in the railway and customs systems for a long time.

Sheng was appointed vice-railway minister in 1999. He became deputy head of the General Administration of Customs in 2000, and became minister and Party chief of the administration in 2008.

He returned to the railway system in February 2011 and served as the minister and Party chief of the railway ministry until 2013.

The railway ministry was broken in two in 2013, with the Ministry of Transport absorbing its administrative powers and China Railway Corporation－now known as China State Railway Group－taking charge of its commercial side.

From March 2013 to October 2016, Sheng served as the first head of China Railway Corporation after its establishment in 2013.

In November 2016, he became deputy head of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress.

Sheng was placed under Party disciplinary examination and investigation by the CCDI and NSC in March.

In another development, Li Jiexiang, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of Qinghai Provincial People's Congress, has been expelled from the Party and removed from his post, said another statement issued by the CCDI and NSC on Monday.

Li used to be a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Qinghai Provincial Committee.

He lost his ideals and convictions, deliberately engaged in political speculation and made friends with political brokers for promotion, said the statement.

He used State-owned mineral resources for political transactions, used political disguise against organizational disciplinary review and investigations, and engaged in superstitious activities, it said.

Li ate and drank wantonly, engaged in hedonism, accepted gifts and money offered by others, failed to report personal matters as required, and helped others in the appointment of cadres, it said.

Li used the business of his friends and relatives as a cover and engaged in power and money trade, and made use of his position to help others in project contracting and development, accepting a huge amount of property in return.

Li, 58, a native of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, began working and joined the Party in 1985. He worked in the region for a long time and became Party chief of the region's Tongliao city.

In 2019, he was transferred to Qinghai and became the executive vice-governor of Qinghai Provincial Government.

In January 2022, he served as vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Qinghai Provincial People's Congress, and he was placed under disciplinary review and investigation by the CCDI and NSC about two months later.