Beijing elects first supervisory commission chief

BEIJING - Zhang Shuofu was elected on Friday the first director of Beijing's supervisory commission at the fifth session of the 14th Beijing Municipal People's Congress, the city's legislature.

Zhang, 51, began serving as secretary of the Beijing municipal commission for discipline inspection of the Communist Party of China earlier this month.

In December, China's top legislature endorsed a pilot program to reform the supervisory system by setting up powerful supervisory commissions with full authority over all officials.

The new commissions will integrate government supervision departments and corruption prevention bureaus, as well as divisions for handling bribery, dereliction of duty and prevention of duty-related crimes under the people's procuratorates.

China has begun to pilot supervisory system reform in Beijing and the provinces of Shanxi and Zhejiang.

Ren Jianhua was elected the first director of the provincial supervisory commission in Shanxi on Wednesday.