Sex videos net 10 more officials
Source: Xinhua |
January 26, 2013, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SCANDAL involving Chongqing officials having sex with women hired by developers who secretly videotaped the trysts to extort construction deals has broadened with 10 more officials fired.
The officials, almost all of them district-level Party chiefs, directors and executives of state-owned enterprises, have been removed from their posts for allegedly appearing in such videos, municipal authorities said.
The announcement late on Thursday ended months of online speculation that a number of local officials had been involved in the case.
The scandal emerged in November after a sex video featuring one official later confirmed to be Lei Zhengfu, Party Secretary of the southwestern city's Beibei District, went viral online.
Lei, the first of nearly a dozen officials to be implicated in the sex scandal, was removed from his post three days after the scandal was exposed.
Police in Chongqing have broken up a criminal ring suspected of using secretly filmed sex videos to blackmail the officials, local authorities said.
The Chongqing Commission for Discipline Inspection found that the ring had hired women to seduce local officials, covertly filmed their sexual acts and used the videos to get government contracts.
The implication of more officials in the sex scandal in Chongqing has caused a stir on the Internet.
"It's all shame and sorrow for senior CPC officials. It's time to take drastic measures to crack down on similar cases and to restore the public's trust of, and support for, government officials," wrote one user on weibo.com. "The sex video, like a powerful nuclear bomb, brought down 10 senior officials from their posts," said another.
Some netizens have even jokingly hailed the young women involved the sex scandal as "national heroes" in the fight against corruption.
The expansive reach of social media, combined with a disgruntled public that has become increasingly intolerant of corruption, has resulted in multiple exposures and prompted anti-graft authorities to launch investigations.
More officials have realized that the Internet is a major channel for public opinion and an important tool in fighting corruption, said Liu Xiaoying, a professor at the Communication University of China.
The officials, almost all of them district-level Party chiefs, directors and executives of state-owned enterprises, have been removed from their posts for allegedly appearing in such videos, municipal authorities said.
The announcement late on Thursday ended months of online speculation that a number of local officials had been involved in the case.
The scandal emerged in November after a sex video featuring one official later confirmed to be Lei Zhengfu, Party Secretary of the southwestern city's Beibei District, went viral online.
Lei, the first of nearly a dozen officials to be implicated in the sex scandal, was removed from his post three days after the scandal was exposed.
Police in Chongqing have broken up a criminal ring suspected of using secretly filmed sex videos to blackmail the officials, local authorities said.
The Chongqing Commission for Discipline Inspection found that the ring had hired women to seduce local officials, covertly filmed their sexual acts and used the videos to get government contracts.
The implication of more officials in the sex scandal in Chongqing has caused a stir on the Internet.
"It's all shame and sorrow for senior CPC officials. It's time to take drastic measures to crack down on similar cases and to restore the public's trust of, and support for, government officials," wrote one user on weibo.com. "The sex video, like a powerful nuclear bomb, brought down 10 senior officials from their posts," said another.
Some netizens have even jokingly hailed the young women involved the sex scandal as "national heroes" in the fight against corruption.
The expansive reach of social media, combined with a disgruntled public that has become increasingly intolerant of corruption, has resulted in multiple exposures and prompted anti-graft authorities to launch investigations.
More officials have realized that the Internet is a major channel for public opinion and an important tool in fighting corruption, said Liu Xiaoying, a professor at the Communication University of China.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
