Yunnan cases given extra scrutiny

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.