Chinese official arrested for corruption

(Vatican Radio) The Chinese government has fired another high-ranking official for graft, after the nation's president called for a root-and-branch drive against corruption. The official is identified as Lu Tienan, a former deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission.

China's state news agency says he and his family "accepted a huge amount of bribes" and that he had been found to promote family businesses in the course of his work, illegally, it said, and by accepting "cash and gifts." He has now lost his job and his Communist Party membership. The case first came to light late last year, when a prominent Chinese journalist accused Lu of corruption. He said Lu had been involved in questionable financial deals, had made a death threat, and had fabricated his academic record.

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has called for a crackdown on corruption. In the past three months, at least two high-profile officials have been sentenced in similar cases. And shortly, the influential former administrator of the city of Chongqing is expected to go on trial, although some activists have urged his many supporters to rise up and resist.

Listen to the report by correspondent Alastair Wanklyn: