Sex tape used to bribe Chinese official goes viral

BEIJING—A scandal involving a teen-age woman allegedly hired by developers to have sex with a city official and secretly taped the liaisons to use for extortion has shaken up the Chinese metropolis formerly headed by fallen politician Bo Xilai.

Already the city official has been fired after a leaked tape went viral — and a whistleblowing former journalist says he has several more tapes.

News of the video, apparently shot in 2007 but only leaked this month, comes as the central government is ramping up its anti-corruption efforts in a bid to burnish the credentials of a new slate of incoming leaders.

China’s communist leadership is well aware that a steady stream of bribery and abuse of power cases has badly tarnished the party’s image and undermined its rule.