Beijing appoints Shanghai discipline chief
5 December 2006
Beijing has appointed a top judicial official to head the Shanghai Commission for Discipline Inspection in the aftermath of the city's pension fund scandal, the South China Morning Post reported. The appointment of Shen Deyong, 52, to head the Communist Party's disciplinary body in Shanghai marks the first time in years that Beijing has named a senior official to the city, which has until now appointed its own senior staff. Political analyst Hu Xingdou, of the Beijing Institute of Technology, said the appointment of Shen, a vice-president of the Supreme People's Court and a member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's standing committee, showed Beijing was determined to strengthen supervision and fight corruption in Shanghai. Hu also suggested Shen's appointment might indicate that Beijing could name an outsider to succeed Chen Liangyu, the former Shanghai party chief who was sacked for his alleged role in the social security fund scandal.