Chinese governor charged over opium fuelled lifestyle The Shanghai Daily said his catchphrase had been: "There is nothing I can't do." According to the Legal Daily newspaper Mr Yang did not contest the 26 counts of bribery leveled against him on Thursday. "The accepting bribes part is basically true," he reportedly said. The newspaper said Mr Yang would be sentenced at an undecided date. Mr Yang's trial comes as China's top leaders are pledging to wage an "urgent" war on corruption. Last month, China's incoming president Xi Jinping warned senior leaders that corruption had to be stamped out to avoid "seething public anger, civil unrest and government collapse." Since Mr Xi was formally unveiled at November's 18th Congress, Chinese newspapers have been filled with an almost daily flow of salacious stories about the transgressions of Communist Party officials. On Thursday it was announced that Li Chuncheng, the deputy party chief of Sichuan province, had been removed from his post because of "serious disciplinary violations." The constant stream of stories suggests authorities are keen to send a message that they are serious about tackling corruption and editorials in the state-run media have praised Mr Xi's apparent commitment to stamping out graft. "If these questions can be addressed, the general secretary and other top leaders will bring China a great leap closer to realizing the 'Chinese dream,'" Xinhua argued this week. Meanwhile, hundreds of leading academics, lawyers and activists have signed an open letter calling on China's top leaders to disclose their personal assets. The letter, to be delivered at March's National People's Congress in Beijing, said such a move was the only way to root out corrupt officials and "build a better China." Wang Quanjie, a university professor and former Congress member who supports the campaign, said the measure was "the ultimate weapon for fighting corruption and building a [clean and transparent] government. Disclosure of assets is a road China must take, [it is] just a matter of time.