Cui Jizhe: Deputy head of Xinhua News Agency sacked for corruption

According to the official news, Xinhua News Agency’s vice president Cui Jizhe was removed from his post by China’s State Council on February 23. His removal was due to bribery and some other illegal activities, said BBC.

It was reported that Cui formed small factions in Xinhua News Agency and traded management positions with money. He was monitored and controlled by the discipline inspection department before the Spring Festival. Some other officials of Xinhua News Agency were also involved in this case.

Some reports said that Cui accepted the bribery from different entrepreneurs and then made use of his rights to put in good words for these entrepreneurs.

If the report was true, Cui will be the highest-ranked official in the information and publicity department in China who fell for corruption.

Cui, 60, was born in Anhui Province. After his graduation from Tianjin-based Nankai University in 1982, he joined in Xinhua News Agency, which was the official news department of China’s central government. In 2005 he was promoted to the vice president of this news agency.