The Sing Pao reports the investigation is mostly focused on the operations department of the Xinhua’s Shanghai Branch. Wu Mingfei, Board President of Xinhua, has been suspended from his position due to suspected mismanagement and bribery with further investigation underway.

The tough actions the government has taken are related to another suspected case of corruption involving Han Bishi, former assistant to the director of Open, a magazine under the jurisdiction of the Xinhua News Agency. Xinhua’s staff has refused to answer any questions from Radio Free Asia reporters.

The Sing Pao states that Han started working for the operations department of Xinhua’s Shanghai office in 1994. In the 1980s, he worked for the Shanghai Commercial News and has been suspected of extortion. Since Han started working for Xinhua, he was alleged to have kept in his personal accounts over 30 million yuan from advertising transactions with international companies. Sources believe the arrest of Pu Xiaojiang, executive director of Xinhua’s Shanghai Branch, is largely related to Han.

Xinhua News Agency is the official mouthpiece of the Chinese central government. The Board President is a bureau-level government official. Xinhua carries the central government’s messages to the local government and the general public, while also sending local information to the central government. Therefore, its officials have some power over local government officials.