Wei Hong, 61, is the second provincial leader to go under as part of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. A former protégé of Zhou Yongkang, he once was in charge of the appointment of Communist Party cadres. For many observers, it is increasingly clear that the president’s anti-graft probe is turning into a power struggle.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has claimed another victim in what many are calling a power struggle within the party.

Wei Hong, governor of Sichuan province and a protégé of former "security czar" Zhou Yongkang, is the latest to fall into the hands of investigators.

A Zhou stronghold, Sichuan has been one of the most severely punished provinces in Beijing’s anti-graft campaign. A flurry of arrests followed Wei’s fall from grace.

A fierce political opponent of the current president, the 61-year-old Wei is the second serving provincial governor to be placed under investigation for corruption amid the central government’s sweeping anti-graft campaign.

The authorities had announced in October that the former governor of Fujian, Su Shulin, was under investigation for alleged graft. His resignation was “accepted” the following month.

For his part, Wei is “reflecting on his mistakes”, anti-corruption official Wu Liangyu told a press briefing, using a phrase suggesting the official was under investigation for bribery.

Wu stopped short of explicitly saying Wei was the focus of a probe, but added he was suspected of “discipline violations”.

Wei had been absent from several key meetings in Sichuan since December, fuelling speculation about his whereabouts.

His last public appearance was in December in Beijing where he attended the central economic work conference, according to footage shown by the state-run broadcaster CCTV.

Previously, Wei was a deputy in the organisation department in Sichuan in charge of the appointment of Communist Party cadres when Zhou came to govern the province in 1999.

He was promoted twice before Zhou left in 2002, first as party boss in Ya’an and later head of the organisation department.

Zhou was sentenced to life in prison last June for corruption, abuse of power and intentionally leaking state secrets.

On Tuesday, one of his close allies, Li Dongsheng, was sentenced to 15 years. The former Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Public Security was convicted for abuse of power, and taking bribes worth 22 million yuan (US$ 3.7 million)

For some analysts, it is increasingly clear that Xi’s anti-corruption campaign is turning into a power struggle to consolidate his hold onto the party, state and military.

n a statement presenting his campaign, Xi said he wanted to punish "the tigers and flies" of corruption, i.e. both high- and low-ranking corrupt officials.

Yet, the actions of the powerful anti-graft authority do not seem to touch his own staff even though many observers note that corruption charges against the president's men are numerous and well documented.

• china
• sichuan
• beijing
• xi
• jinping
• anti-corruption
• campaign