BEIJING - The newly appointed Party chief of the Ministry of Railways, Sheng Guangzu, said the ongoing investigation into the activities of his predecessor shows the Party's resolve to punish corrupt officials and pursue clean governance.

Sheng, 62, who has been head of the General Administration of Customs since 2008, made the remarks at a televised news conference on Saturday night.

His predecessor, Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun, is no longer the Party chief of the ministry, according to a report on Xinhuanet.com that quoted the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

The report also quoted the CPC's discipline watchdog as saying that Liu, 58, who has headed the country's giant railway system since 2003, is under investigation for alleged "severe violation of discipline".

But the CPC's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) did not give additional details.

Liu's replacement has worked in the railways sector since 1968 and became deputy minister of railways in 1999, before being appointed to work as the deputy director of the General Administration of Customs in 2000.

At the news conference, he urged all efforts to be made to ensure the safety of railway transport, especially that of China's high-speed passenger trains.

Hu Yadong, deputy minister of railways, said a railway safety campaign is being launched that will last until the end of March. Hu said safety is generally good but still has some challenges in such areas as equipment quality and operation safety management.

Liu is the latest in a number of senior officials to be investigated during the country's battle against corruption.

A month ago, Zhang Jingli, the former deputy director of the State Food and Drug Administration, was removed from office and expelled from the CPC for serious violations.

According to the CCDI and the Ministry of Supervision, Zhang abused his position to receive "a large amount of money" in bribes.

Other high-ranking CPC officials sacked for graft include Kang Rixin, a former head of the country's nuclear giant China National Nuclear Corporation, and Huang Yao, former chairman of the Guizhou provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

A total of 146,517 officials were punished for disciplinary violations in 2010, according to the CCDI. Among the officials, 5,098 were leaders at the county level or above and 804 were prosecuted.

Early last month, while addressing a CCDI plenary session, President Hu Jintao stressed that corruption was still a grave concern for the country and vowed that the government will fight it with greater determination and more force.

Hu pledged more efforts would be made to investigate "graft in key industries and key posts".

China issued its first-ever white paper on its anti-graft efforts in December, expressing its resolve to strengthen the fight against corruption.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily 02/14/2011 page3)