The Communist Party of China's recent decision to seriously punish a former senior official was widely supported by the Party's provincial and municipal authorities nationwide, all of whom pledged to maintain a high degree of unity with the Party's central authorities.

Sun Zhengcai, former Party chief of Chongqing, was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office for "serious discipline violations", according to a statement issued after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday.

The investigation and punishment of Sun, a former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, shows that the CPC Central Committee, with President Xi Jinping as the core, has firm determination to fight corruption, according to a commentary article in People's Daily on Saturday.

The Party's Chongqing municipal committee held a meeting on Friday evening, soon after the statement was released, at which municipal Party officials vowed to firmly safeguard the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and maintain firm unity with the Central Committee.

The probe and punishment of Sun before the Party's 19th National Congress proves that the CPC has great capability for self-improvement and self-purification, said a statement released by the CPC Chongqing municipal committee. The CPC will begin its 19th National Congress on Oct 18.

The Party committees of many other provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Guangdong, Shanxi and Heilongjiang, also voiced support for the Central Committee immediately after Friday's meeting.

Based on evidence found by authorities and tips from the public, the Central Committee decided to remove Sun from his position as Chongqing Party chief on July 14.

A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee on July 24 decided to put Sun under investigation. The investigation was conducted by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The investigation found that Sun had betrayed Party principles and lost his political stance, ignoring the Party code of conduct and rules, according to a statement issued after Friday's meeting.

He was also found to have seriously violated the CPC eight-point code on frugality and maintaining close ties with the masses. He sought pomp, ostentation and privileges, according to the statement.

The statement said that Sun was guilty of nepotism and seeking benefits in the selection of officials. He was also found guilty of leaking confidential Party information and seriously breaching Party rules on integrity.

He took advantage of his power and influence to seek benefits for others, and accepted a "huge amount" of money and gifts in return. He was found to have sought substantial benefits for his relatives' businesses and accepted valuable gifts.

The statement accused Sun of bureaucracy and sloth in work and degradation and power-for-sex trades in life.

Sun totally deviated from the Party spirit and political requirements for senior officials, the statement said, adding that his misconduct betrayed the trust of the CPC Central Committee and the public, and inflicted great harm on the Party and the country with an "extremely bad" social influence.

The case involving Sun's suspected crimes will be transferred to the judiciary. The decision to expel Sun from the CPC will be put before a plenary meeting of the CPC Central Committee.