At a State Council Information Office news conference, Wu Yuliang, deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, responded to a question about the recent absence from public life of the Governor of Sichuan province, WeiHong, by saying, Wei "is suspected of severely violating Party discipline, and he is now conducting a self-examination and reflecting on his faults".

This is the first time that the phrase "conducting self-examination and reflecting on one's faults" has been used in regard to violations of the Party's discipline by provincial or ministerial level senior officials.

Wei, who has been the governor of Sichuan for three years, has thus become the first top provincial leader required to conduct such a self-examination since the Party strengthened its regulations years ago.

According to the CCDI, he will be further dealt with according to his violations of the Party rules.

Experts say the use of the phrase "conducting self-examination and reflecting on one's faults" shows that the anti-corruption campaign has become more open andmore transparent. Instead of the expression "no comment", the disciplinary authority wants to enhance communication with the public in the anti-corruption campaign.