Close aide of China's former security czar sentenced for graft

A close aide of China's former national security czar has been sentenced to seven years in prison for graft as part of the country's crackdown on corruption.
Cao Yongzheng, a close aide of Zhou Yongkang was sentenced after being convicted of bribery and illegally transferring and reselling land use rights, the Yichang Intermediate People's Court in the central province of Hubei said in a social media posting.
Zhou is also serving a life sentence for corruption.
Meanwhile in a separate case, a former senior Chinese airforce official was being probed for allegedly buying his post for over USD 8.3 million.

General Tian Xiusi, 66, former political commissar in the People's Liberation Amy (PLA) Air Force and a member of the Communist Party's 18th Central Committee, has been placed under investigation, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported today.
"If the case is confirmed, any investigation in the PLA would be carried out by a branch within the Central Military Commission (CMC)," the report said.

With both his wife and personal secretary taken away [for investigation], Tian has been subject to an internal disciplinary process conducted by the Communist Party of China (CPC), it said.
Tian, as political commissar, was the top decision-maker in charge of the world's fastest-growing air force during his term in office, according to analysts.

The reason why he has been placed under investigation is unclear.
'Political mistakes', more than graft, led to downfall of Chinese military chiefs Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, the Post report said.
While Guo faced investigations, Xu died of cancer last year.
However, a book published earlier this year alleges that Tian paid 50 million yuan (USD 8. 3 million) to the disgraced former military Guo to secure the position of political commissar in 2012, the report said.
The book was written by Chen Xi, a former official in a department affiliated with the former Lanzhou Military Command.
Hundreds of Chinese officials including several top PLA officials either faced investigations for corruption or punished in the massive anti-graft campaign launched by President Xi Jinping since he took over power in 2013.