China's Ministry of Justice said on Thursday that there is no new information on the corruption case of Ling Jihua, a former senior Party official and national political advisor.
Zhao Dacheng, deputy head of the Ministry of Justice, said at a briefing that the government provides legal aid to anyone who wants it and meets the criteria of financial difficulty, when he was asked if Ling would be provided with legal aid, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
Ling, former vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee (CPPCC) and former head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, was probed for "suspected serious disciplinary violation" in December 2014.
Ling's elder brother Ling Zhengce was sacked as vice chairman of the CPPCC provincial committee of Shanxi Province for suspected serious disciplinary violations in June last year.