Former head of telecom giant China Unicom arrested for corruption

Beijing, Nov 4 (EFE).- The former head of the Chinese telecom giant China Unicom, Li Guohua, has been arrested for allegedly accepting bribes and abuse of power, state media reported on Friday.

The Supreme People’s Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest of the former executive on suspicion of graft, Xinhua news agency reported without giving more details.

The arrest followed an investigation by the National Supervisory Commission, the main anti-corruption body of the Chinese state.

China Unicom is one of the three major operators in the country, along with China Mobile and China Telecom.

The Prosecutor’s Office has also ordered the arrest of the former chief prosecutor of Shanghai, Zhang Bencai, for alleged bribery.

Following his coming to power in 2012, President Xi Jinping began an anti-corruption campaign in which the party convicted several senior Chinese officials for accepting bribes.

The campaign has led to the punishment of more than 1.5 million officials.

But critics allege that Xi could use the anti-graft drive to end the political careers of some of his rivals. EFE

The Chinese leader was re-elected two weeks ago at the 20th CPC Congress for an unprecedented third term in office. EFE

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