China’s former Hainan party chief Luo Baoming faces corruption investigation

Official who helped transform Hainan into strategic and economic hub in the South China Sea is being probed for ‘violations of party discipline and the law’

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Former Communist Party boss of the southern Chinese province of Hainan, Luo Baoming. Photo: Weibo

Published: 5:31pm, 26 Jul 2024Updated: 8:27pm, 26 Jul 2024

The former Communist Party boss of the southern Chinese province of Hainan who helped transform it into a strategic hub in the South China Sea has been placed under investigation for corruption.

China’s top corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), said on Thursday that Luo Baoming was being investigated for suspected severe violations of party discipline and the law – the usual euphemism for corruption.

Luo, who went on to serve as the vice-chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, “voluntarily turned himself in”, according to the commission. No further details were given.

Luo, 72, a native of northern city of Tianjin, started his career at the Inner Mongolia Production and Construction Corporation in 1969, then returned to Tianjin in 1973, where he rose through the ranks to eventually head the city’s Communist Party propaganda department in 1997, according to public records.

Luo rose to prominence in Hainan where he spent more than 15 years in various senior roles.

During his time in office, the rustic island was transformed into one of the region’s most popular tourist destinations, and has become a strategic Chinese outpost in the northern part of the South China Sea, where China has staked vast territorial claims that have fuelled tensions between Beijing, its neighbours and Washington.