CHINA: Corruption trial of disgraced senior politician begins

The corruption trial against disgraced senior politician Sun Zhengcai, once considered a contender for top leadership has begun in China with prosecutors kick starting formal legal proceedings against the politician.

Sun who has been accused of corruption and other crimes was abruptly removed from his post as party chief of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing in July and replaced by Chen Miner.

The politician who was also accused of leaking secrets, bribery and abusing his power was earlier put under investigation before his party in September announced he would be prosecuted for corruption.

Read also: UK Foreign Secretary plans Iran visit to discuss release of Britons held in Tehran

In a brief statement, the prosecutor said that it had begun proceedings against Sun for suspected bribery and had approved the taking of “coercive measures” against him, a Chinese legal term that generally refers to detention.

Meanwhile, a war of words has been sparked between China and Taiwan after a threat by a senior Chinese diplomat to invade Taiwan the instant any U.S. warship visits the self-ruled island.

The comments has sparked a war of words, with Taipei accusing Beijing of failing to understand what democracy means.

China considers Taiwan to be a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is its main source of arms.

 

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