Zhuhai Party Secretary under investigation

Li Jia

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced this week that Li Jia, the Party Committee Secretary of Zhuhai, is under investigation for serious disciplinary offenses.
The decision has surprised some observers as Li met a group of governors from Kyrgyzstan a day before his arrest. Last month, Li led a delegation of Zhuhai officials to Macau.
On March 20, Li attended the commencement ceremony of the Tianqin Project, a gravitational waves research program planned by Zhongshan University, with a total planned investment of RMB15 billion. The Zhuhai authorities subsequently announced a RMB300 million investment to finance part of the program, which will be based in Zhuhai.
Li is the first Party Committee Secretary of Zhuhai who has been arrested while still in office.
According to mainland media, the investigation will delve into his work between 2003 and 2012, during which time he served on the Municipal Committee of Meizhou. His previous associates include former Guangzhou party boss, Wan Qingliang, who was prosecuted for corruption.
Born in Hunan province, 51-year-old Li Jia obtained his bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees from Zhongshan University where he then served as Deputy Secretary of the Communist Youth League from 1991 to 1994.
Since February 2012, he has been appointed as Party Secretary of Zhuhai, Director of the Municipal People’s Congress, and the first Secretary of the Party Committee of Zhuhai garrison. Staff reporter