Investigation looks at Xinjiang officials

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has started a campaign to investigate the involvement of leaders and their relatives in running businesses or establishing companies.

The campaign, headed by the regional discipline watchdog, will last until late August, Legal Daily reported last week.

The investigation mainly targets officials above director and county level at Party committees, the regional legislature and political advisory body, judicial and procuratorate organs, and democratic parties.

Those of the same levels in social organizations and institutions, as well as SOEs and State-controlled companies under provincial administration will also be inspected.

Those who have worked at those posts within three years will be probed, too.

The investigation focuses on business activities of the leaders themselves or in others' names, obtaining profits by joining in others' businesses.

The activities of their spouses, children, and children's spouses are also being reviewed if they are involved in business activities that might counter public interest within the leaders' administration, whether they work for themselves or foreign-funded companies.

The discipline committee has set up a provincial discipline investigation office, the only one in the country, which monitors Party members, Liu Xinyan, deputy Party secretary of the committee, said.

From January to July, the committee has dealt with 87 cases of violation of Party discipline, with 74 people involved.