Mayor Of Beijing Thrown Out Of Office

The man who ran the Chinese capital with an iron fist as mayor and party boss was expelled Thursday from the Communist Party’s Central Committee and told he may face charges of fraud and corruption.

Six years after he masterminded the brutal June 4, 1989 crackdown on student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Chen Xitong became the highest ranking party cadre to fall victim to an official anti-corruption campaign.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party announced that Chen led “a dissolute and extravagant life, abused power and sought illegal interests for his relatives and other people.”

The former mayor and party secretary has been implicated in a $37 million scandal involving kickbacks for licenses to build commercial plazas in the capital. However, informed sources said Chen was made an example of because he also challenged President Jiang Zemin for China’s top post as Deng Xiaoping’s successor.