Disgraced security tsar’s associate booted out of China’s parliament, paving way for prosecution on corruption charges

A former senior associate of China's jailed former security chief Zhou Yongkang has been dismissed from the country's parliament after a graft probe, paving the way for his prosecution.

Zhou Benshun, who is not related to Zhou Yongkang, had been the top official in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing and is China’s most important steel producer.

The Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog accused him in July of “serious breaches of discipline and the law”, a euphemism for corruption.

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Zhou Benshun had now been booted out of the National People’s Congress, the state-run Xinhua news agency said late on Saturday, meaning he has lost the immunity from prosecution he had enjoyed as a member.

The brief report provided no other information and it was unclear whether he had a lawyer. It was not possible to reach him for comment.

The Hebei city of Zhangjiakou this year won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics along with Beijing. Zhou Benshun had attended meetings of the bid committee.

Zhou Benshun worked for five years under Zhou Yongkang in the Central Politics and Law Commission as its secretary general. He became party chief in Hebei in 2013.