Chen Xitong
Also in 1995, Beijing's city government was shaken by a leadership scandal as Chen Xitong, party secretary and a member of the politburo, was removed from office and deputy-mayor Wang Baosen committed suicide. Chen was convicted and sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in 1998 of corruption and negligence of official duty and became the highest ranking Chinese official to be convicted of a crime since the trial of the Gang of Four. Chen reportedly lost a power struggle against Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin and the "Shanghai Clique". He maintained that the charges against him were politically motivated.