The official Xinhua news agency said the 512 lawmakers in Hengyang
city in the poor, landlocked southern province of Hunan resigned
after they took bribes from 56 members of the provincial assembly.
The total amount of the bribes was more than 110 million yuan ($18.1
million) and the money was used to swing the results of elections,
Xinhua said, citing a Hunan government statement.
China does not have fully democratic one-man, one-vote elections but
has experimented with a selection process at the grassroots for
local legislatures, even if most candidates are Communist Party
members and there is rarely more than a single candidate for each
position available.
"The number of people involved in the Hengyang election case are
many, the amount of money large, the substance serious, the effect
pernicious; this is a serious challenge to our People's Congresses
system," Xinhua said.
"It must be seriously dealt with in accordance with the law."
The National People's Congress is China's parliament.
Provinces, cities, counties and other administrative districts all
have their own People's Congresses, and they all generally act as a
rubber stamp for party decisions rather than providing a forum for
debate or making policies.
The competition, though limited, to become lawmakers in some places
has opened the door to corruption, as membership of such bodies
brings opportunities to influence decisions about things such as
business contracts and promotions.
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Xinhua said that those found to have broken the law in this bribery
scandal would be handed over to judicial authorities for
prosecution.
President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping crackdown on corruption
since taking power, pursuing high-flying "tigers" as well as lowly
"flies", warning the problem is so severe it could threaten the
party's survival.
Still, the party has shown no sign of wanting to set up an
independent body outside party control to fight corruption, which
many experts say is the only way China can really deal with it.
Indeed, the party has gone after activists who have pressed for
officials to publicly reveal their wealth. One of the most prominent
of these, Xu Zhiyong, is expect to go on trial soon.
($1 = 6.0686 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Robert Birsel)
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