China's former security chief charged with bribery, abuse of power

Beijing

CHINA's former security chief Zhou Yongkang was charged on Friday with bribery, abuse of power and disclosing state secrets, authorities said, making him the most senior official prosecuted in decades and setting the stage for a dramatic trial.

Zhou is the most prominent victim of President Xi Jinping's much-publicised anti-corruption drive, which has targeted high-level "tigers" as well as low-level "flies". He had a background in the oil industry and accumulated vast power as he rose through the ranks to become a member of the Communist Party's elite Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the most powerful body in China.

"The defendant Zhou Yongkang . . . took advantage of his posts to seek gains for others and illegally took huge property and assets from others, abused his power, causing huge losses to public property and the interests of the State and the people," said the indictment, posted online by prosecutors. "The social impact is vile and the circumstances were extraordinarily severe," it said, adding that he also "intentionally leaked state secrets". The document was filed…