Yunnan cases given extra scrutiny

Then China's Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang reacts as he attends the Hebei delegation discussion sessions at the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing in this October 16, 2007 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

Southwest China's Yunnan province is emerging as the center of an epidemic of corruption connected to the case of ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang.

The investigation of a series of cases involving alleged corruption in the province indicates that it is squarely in the central government's sights, along with Sichuan, Shanxi and Jiangxi provinces, where a majority of officials put under investigation reportedly had ties to Zhou, sources told China Business News.

Cases include those of Bai Enpei, former Party chief of Yunnan province; Shen Peiping, the province's former vice-governor; Yao Tangwen, former director of the Yunnan Provincial Statistics Bureau; and Chu Zhongzhi, Party chief of Dali city.

So far, the anti-graft effort in Yunnan has focused on land and resources, transportation, construction and education.

Zhou's power base was in Sichuan, but his influence on officials in neighboring Yunnan province was also deep. Investigated officials Shen Peiping and Bai Enpei were reported to be Zhou's close associates.

Yunnan has abundant natural resources. Its reserves of aluminum, lead, zinc and tin are the largest in China. Investigations have targeted officials that were in a position to handle resources illegally.

According to China Business News, reconstruction and the cheap sale of the Lanping Lead-Zinc Mine and Dulong Tin Mine were breakthroughs in the series of corruption cases.