China Charges Highest-level Official In a Generation

Chinese state media said Friday that criminal charges have been filed against Zhou Yongkang, the nation's former security chief and an ex-member of the Communist Party's top Politburo Standing Committee. The charges allege "bribery, abuse of power and intentional disclosure of state secrets," Xinhua News reported, citing a statement from the Supreme People's Procuratorate. The opening of an investigation against Zhou last July shocked the Chinese public, as it reportedly marked the highest-level figure so targeted since the "Gang of Four" were jailed in the early 1980s for their roles in the Cultural Revolution.

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