The deputy Party secretary of Shandong Province has been sacked and is being investigated for "serious discipline violation."

Du Shicheng, 56, has also been stripped of his post of secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong, Xinhua reported yesterday.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is investigating the case, it said.

The commission found clues of Du's malpractice after receiving reports from the public, the report said, without elaborating.

Du, a native of Shandong, spent most of his political career in the province and rose quickly through the ranks.

He worked about two years as a commune teacher in Huangxian County before joining the CPC in December 1972.

He moved up from deputy secretary of a local commune to the Party secretary of Huangxian County.

He was elevated to the post of vice-governor of Shandong in 1995. In 2003, he was promoted to Qingdao Party chief after acting as a deputy secretary for three years.

Yan Qijun, president of the Shandong Federation of Trade Unions, has been appointed new Party chief of Qingdao.

Shandong's gross domestic product (GDP), which ranks second only after southern Guangdong Province, reached 1.02 trillion yuan (US$127.5 billion) in the first half of 2006, a year-on-year growth of 15.3 per cent.

Qingdao is a key port and co-host city of the sailing events in the 2008 Olympic Games.

The city is also home to renowned Chinese brands such as appliance manufacturer "Haier" and "Tsingtao Beer."

Du's sacking is another signal of the central government's tough stand against corruption, according to Xinhua.

Earlier this month, Beijing's former vice-mayor Liu Zhihua, who was sacked in June for corruption, was expelled from the CPC.

In September, Shanghai Party chief Chen Liangyu was sacked for alleged involvement in the 10 billion yuan (US$1.27 billion) security fund scandal, becoming the highest ranking official to fall in the latest anti-corruption drive.

Source: China Daily