China calls official's execution a warning siren

By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday hailed the swift execution of the nation's former drug safety chief as a warning to corrupt officials while detailing a web of graft that thrived for years without punishment.

Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), dominated television and print news a day after he was executed for taking some 6.5 million yuan ($850,000) in bribes to let medicine companies slip past his regulatory net.

The People's Daily, voice of the ruling Communist Party, said the punishment was intended to deter other wayward officials.

"Corrupt elements will be thoroughly investigated no matter who they are, how high their post, or how deep they hide, and there can be no appeasement or softness," the newspaper said.

Zheng, head of the agency from 1998 to 2005, was sentenced on May 29 and his appeal was heard last month.

President Hu Jintao is preparing for a congress later this year that is set to extend his tenure as party chief, which he has used to promote an image of tough, clean rule.

But even as the media cast Zheng's punishment as a sign of the leadership's commitment to curing graft, reports described a system of kickbacks and favors that went back a decade without public exposure.

From 1997, Zheng exploited his grip on drug approval powers to squeeze bribes that went to his wife and son, Xinhua news agency reported. One company in Zhejiang province in the east fed them "consultancy fees" and other rewards worth 2.9 million yuan.