Former head of Chinese news agency investigated for graft

The retired former head of an important state-run Chinese news agency has been put under investigation for suspected graft, the ruling Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog said on Wednesday.

Liu Beixian, editor-in-chief of the China News Service until retiring in February 2015, was suspected of "serious discipline breaches", a euphemism for graft, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement.

It provided no other details and it was not possible to reach Liu or a legal or family representative for comment.

The China News Service is run under the auspices of the Chinese cabinet's Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, and is designed to serve as a news source for Chinese communities in places like Hong Kong and self-ruled Taiwan.

It is separate from Xinhua, China's national official news agency.

Liu began working at the China News Service in 1983 and was its Hong Kong bureau chief from 1997 to 2000, according to his official resume, a period that coincided with the handover of the former British territory back to Chinese rule.

President Xi Jinping has mounted a sweeping campaign against deep-rooted corruption since taking office almost five years ago, jailing or meting out lesser punishments to hundreds of thousands of officials.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)