What’s new: A vice mayor of Beijing has fallen under a graft probe, the authorities announced late Sunday.
Gao Peng, who is also a member of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is being investigated for suspected “serious violations of discipline and law,” the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a one-line statement. The phrase is a common euphemism for corruption.
Gao’s last public appearance was less than a week ago. On April 17, he attended a national-level meeting on forest and grassland fire prevention in Beijing, the emergency management ministry’s publicity and education center said in an article published last week.
The background: Gao has been one of the capital’s vice mayors since January 2023. He was in charge of matters related to urban management, transportation, agriculture and rural affairs, and also assisted in emergency management, according to the Beijing government’s official English-language website.
Gao spent at least two decades of his career in the capital, including six years at Beijing Infrastructure Investment Co. Ltd., the state-owned company that finances and operates Beijing’s subway system. The 51-year-old has a doctorate in economics.
Earlier this month, an ex-deputy chief of the fire and rescue department at the Ministry of Emergency Management, Zhang Fusheng, pleaded guilty to accepting nearly 40 million yuan ($5.5 million) in bribes.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)
