A former provincial-rank official and a well-connected businessman were expelled from China's national parliament on Wednesday over alleged involvement in corruption.

After the dismissal, the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) has 2,978 members.

At the closing of a regular session that began on February 26, the NPC Standing Committee voted to strip Liu Weiming, 68, a provincial-rank official of Guangdong Province, and Deng Zhonghua, 49, president of Hunan Chendian International Development Co., Ltd, of their NPC memberships.

Liu was dismissed for "seriously violating discipline", according to the decision made earlier by the provincial people's congress in Guangdong.

Previous media reports said Liu had been involved in economic crimes. He had been expelled from the Communist Party of China.

Liu served as vice governor of the economic boom province of Guangdong from 1988 to 1998 and vice chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from 1998 to 2003.

In a separate case, Deng was suspected of taking and offering huge bribes after being investigated by anti-corruption authorities in central Hunan Province. The former vice president of the Hunan company, Liu Xiaowen, had been arrested for bribery.

Deng was appointed president of Hunan Chendian International Development Co., Ltd. in March 2004.