China's Supreme People's Procuratorate has arrested Tang Shuangning, the former chairman of state-owned banking giant Everbright Group, on suspicion of corruption. The 69-year-old was previously expelled from the ruling Communist Party for violations of party discipline, including bringing unauthorised books into the country and accepting illicit gifts.
Tang's detention comes as part of President Xi Jinping's sweeping campaign against corruption, which has targeted high-level officials in the financial sector. In recent months, Sun Guofeng, the former head of the central bank's monetary policy department, was sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison, and Liu Liange, the former chairman of the Bank of China, and Li Xiaopeng, who took over from Tang at Everbright, were arrested on suspicion of corruption.
Xi's anti-corruption drive has been praised by some for cleaning up Chinese politics and business, but it has also been criticized as a power grab by the president. Critics say that Xi is using the campaign to eliminate his political rivals and consolidate his grip on power.
It remains to be seen how Tang's case will unfold, but it is clear that China's anti-corruption campaign is far from over.
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