Lu Wei, former deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is being investigated for suspected severe violations of Party discipline, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the top anti-graft overseer, revealed on Tuesday night.

Lu is the first senior official under the direct management of the CPC Central Committee to be investigated since the 19th National Congress of the Party in October. The investigation again demonstrates the firm determination of the CPC Central Committee with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the core to advance strict governance of the Party. And it sends an unequivocal signal that the Party's campaign to strictly govern and manage itself will never cease.

According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, a total of 440 officials above the provincial level and other officials under direct personnel management of the CPC Central Committee have been put under investigation since the Party's 18th National Congress in 2012.