China says deputy propaganda chief under graft investigation
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) June 21, 2024

China said on Friday a deputy propaganda chief was under investigation for suspected corruption as President Xi Jinping wages a years-long campaign against graft.

Zhang Jianchun, a deputy head of the Central Propaganda Department, is being investigated for "suspected serious disciplinary and legal violations", the ruling Communist Party's anti-corruption agency said, using an official euphemism for alleged graft.

The one-line statement gave no details of Zhang's alleged offences.

He is one of the top officials in the highly secretive department that is charged with spreading the ruling Communist Party's ideology as well as censoring China's tightly controlled media.

Zhang, 59, hails from eastern Shandong province and rose to prominence in a key party role in the capital Beijing, according to an official biography.

He entered the Organisation Department -- a powerful body directing nationwide party appointments -- in 2016, rising to deputy chief before taking on his most recent role in 2020.

Xi, China's most powerful leader in decades, has waged an unrelenting battle against deep-seated corruption since coming to power more than a decade ago.

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