When politics meets a lover's revenge

Sitting in her flat in Beijing, with only her dog for company, 25-year-old Ji Yingnan waited by the phone for an explanation from her former lover, Fan Yue, who had been a deputy director of the Policy and Legislation Research Department of the State Archives Administration until their affair hit the headlines.

Ji, a former host on the China Travel & Economic Channel, claimed that she had thought Fan was single and loved her.

"I had no idea he was such a liar," Ji told the Global Times. "He always promised to marry me and I always thought he would be my fiancé, or even husband."

After Fan pulled the plug on their four-year-long relationship, Ji decided to expose their affair at Fan's workplace in April, and then revealed it to the public in June.

The online tip-off attracted public attention, as many suspected that corruption was involved in the case, especially when Ji mentioned that Fan had bought her lots of luxury goods and even gave her 10,000 yuan ($1,628) every day when they moved in together at a rented house.

Later, Fan was removed from his government position, the latest in a long line of officials laid low by mistresses and anti-graft campaigns.

Lover's revenge

Ji and Fan began their relationship in 2009. Soon after that, Fan attempted to persuade Ji to leave her job and promised to find her a job at a Beijing television station so they could have a better life together.

Although those promises never came true, Fan was still quite generous when giving gifts. He bought Ji many luxury products and wined and dined her in expensive restaurants.

"I did wonder how he earned the money without violating any regulations, such as taking advantage of his authority. However, because I loved him so much, I chose to trust him when he told me the money was borrowed from his friends or earned from other business," Ji said.

When the relationship came crashing down, Ji decided to report Fan to the authorities in case he had been involved in corruption, however she never received any reply.

Fan has denied reports in the Beijing Times that indicated that he gave Ji 10,000 yuan every day. Fan has stated that the information on the Internet was incorrect, and that he is planning a lawsuit against Ji.

After Fan's denials, Ji posted a video Saturday on her real-name Weibo account, which showed how the official had proposed to her. The clip was dated June 4, 2011.

"On the two-year anniversary marking our first meeting, I hope you can marry me with all our friends as witnesses," Fan said in the video.

Fan refused to take calls on this issue when phoned by the Global Times on Monday.

Ji claimed she was not trying to end Fan's career by revealing the details of their private life. "I just want to make him know that he made a mistake by ruining my life and he needs to pay for that."