CHENG Weigao, former chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hebei Provincial People's Congress, has been reportedly expelled from the Chinese Communist Party for violating Party discipline, Nanfang Dushibao has reported.

　　Cheng, 70, had worked as a high official in Hebei Province since 1990. But his reputation in the province had not always been good.

　　"Cheng is of serious individualism. Boasting about his high level, he didn't care about the Party's discipline and was a law onto himself," was the wording of a terse announcement by the Standing Committee of the Central Commission of Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

　　The announcement said Cheng should be held responsible for great economic losses to the government brought about by his corrupt practices.

　　He had allegedly used his influence to enable his wife and children to engage in illegal activities, accepted valuable gifts as bribes and connived with his two secretaries to commit crimes. He was also accused of seeking vengeance against colleagues who reported his corruption.

　　Cheng will also have to face the punishment of the law as it appears that the amount of money taken must be considerable.

　　Cheng's being related to his corrupt secretaries was held by the CCDI to be one of his major mistakes.

　　Li Zhen, one of the secretaries, was sentenced to death.

　　Cheng had to accept high responsibility for his crime, officials said. Without the shield and protection of Cheng, Li could not have moved up the ladder of power at such amazingly high speed.

　　According to the official declaration, Cheng's two secretaries Li and Wu Qingwu both took advantage of their posts to collect money illegally. Dozens of millions of State-owned funds had flowed \into\ their own pockets.

　　But Cheng was happy to back them up, according to a cadre who has worked in the province over a long period. "Many people reported on Li Zhen's problem. But Cheng said Li was okay after an examination," the cadre said.

　　Another retired cadre, who used to be the vice-president of Hebei Province, said a note or a call was enough for Li to promote an official in the government. "How can a secretary have such big power?" he said.

　　During Cheng's 10-year administration in Hebei, many corrupt officials were punished. As in the case of Li Zhen, 46 officials were related.

　　The Party and the government were determined to root out corruption within their ranks, officials said. Five inspection groups have been set up to launch investigations into provincial officials. The 45 inspection staff were now ready to begin work.

　　This year's programme calls for inspections in Guizhou, Hunan, Jilin, Jiangsu and Gansu provinces.

　　The group plans to take about four years to complete a full inspection of 31 provinces and cities with the aim of stream-lining the supervisory system.