Nearly 570 legislators in Hunan caught in election scandal

Nearly 570 lawmakers from a city in Hunan Province have either resigned or been dismissed from their posts over election fraud, the official Xinhua News Agency reports.

The people's congress of Hengyang, the second-largest city in the central province, accepted the resignations of 512 representatives on December 28 for taking bribes to elect 56 of their colleagues to the provincial congress.

The same day, the standing committee of the provincial congress dismissed the 56 because they won election by paying bribes.

The country's leaders have for years issued dire warnings about the damage corruption is doing to the image of the party and the government, yet scandals persist, convincing many in the public that their leaders do not have their interests at heart. The recent deaths of seven infants who died after receiving hepatitis B vaccinations have shocked the nation. Two of those deaths were in Hunan, and one involved a baby that died after getting a shot at a county hospital in Hengyang.

The election for seats at the provincial level was held from December 28, 2012, to January 3, 2013.Lawmakers seeking election to the higher legislative body offered bribes totaling 110 million yuan to legislators and related staffers, Xinhua said.

"The election fraud in Hengyang has involved a large number of lawmakers and a large amount of money," a statement from the Hunan government said. "It is a challenge to the system of people's congresses, socialist democracy, and the law and (Communist) Party discipline."

The provincial government urged harsh punishment to the people involved in the scandal.

Prosecutors in the province have launched an investigation, Xinhua said. The party's anti-corruption watchdog was also investigating.

Also, Tong Mingqian, who as Hengyang party chief at the time was in charge of the election, is being investigated by the party's Central Discipline Inspection Commission. Tong has been fired from his position as vice chairman of the Hunan people's political consultative conference, a job he took in January 2013.