China's Ag Minister Fired
China's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is under investigation for "suspected serious violations of law and discipline" and his name and photo have been eliminated from the Ministry's "leaders" web page. The disciplinary review and investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of Minister Tang Renjian was announced in a special Friday night meeting on May 18. Former Minister Tang's alleged crimes were not revealed. It is unusual for a government minister to be investigated, and the Minister had given a speech at an employee recruiting event in Shaanxi Province just 3 days before he was hauled up for investigation. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs doesn't have a lot of opportunities for corruption, and 61-year-old former Tang was known as a technocrat with a doctorate in economics. Tang is a native of Chongqing in southwest China, was a policy expert with the central rural policy leading group in Beijing, an...