BEIJING (Reuters) - China expelled a disgraced senior aide to former President Hu Jintao from a high-profile advisory body on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported on its website, marking the latest step in a significant political scandal.
Ling Jihua heads a Communist Party body charged with reaching out to non-Communists and holds a rank equivalent to vice premier. The largely ceremonial advisory council also dismissed former spy boss Ma Jian and Zhu Mingguo, once a senior official in the southern export powerhouse province of Guangdong, according to media reports. Both have been accused of graft.