China exposes officials involved in organized crime

China's graft busters on Wednesday named a number of officials implicated in organized crime, as a national campaign against gangs swept across the country.

The exposed Party cadres and those working in the public sector in five cases either organized, led or participated in gang crime, or sheltered gangs from punishment, according to a statement released by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission.

Some local authorities were found to have neglected their duties to supervise and punish organized crime, according to the statement.

"The problems have severely damaged the political ecosystem, economic order and social stability of the localities, and undermined public trust in the Party and governments, and should be harshly investigated and punished," it said.

In one case, Di Zhimin, former head of Dongsi Village in Henan province, was expelled from the CPC and public office for organizing and leading gang crime. Di was found to have committed crimes, including assaulting, verbally abusing and blackmailing villagers, and violently undermining elections from 1997 to 2017.

Di's case has been transferred to judicial organs, with all other officials involved punished.