To Trap a‘Tiger’

By+Li+Li

On July 29， the Communist Party of China（CPC） announced an investigation into Zhou Yongkang， the latest high-ranking“tiger” to find himself in the anti-corruption campaigns crosshairs.

The investigation into Zhou—a former standing committee member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee—for suspected “serious disciplinary violations” will be conducted by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection （CCDI）， making him the highest-level figure to be investigated for corruption in the Partys history.

Rise and fall

Zhou was born in 1942 into a farmers family in Wuxi， east Chinas Jiangsu Province. His father sold eels he caught in a local creek， and his mother raised silkworms. He graduated from the Chinese University of Petroleum in 1966， which was then known as the Beijing Petroleum Institute， and over the next three decades he climbed the ranks in the largely state-owned oil sector. By 1996 he was the general manager of the China National Petroleum Corp.（CNPC）， the countrys largest energy company.

Two years later， he made the remarkable transition into mainstream politics， spending a brief stint as head of the Ministry of the Land and Resources before becoming the Party chief of Sichuan Province in 1999. Three years later， in 2002， he was named minister of public security. He served at the position until 2007， when he was promoted to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee， the Partys top decisionmaking body， and assumed the leadership of the Committee for Political and Legal Affairs. Zhou retired at the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

While putting an end to months of speculation and hearsay concerning Zhou， the announcement also clearly terminated the myth some believed about senior leaders being immune from Party discipline regulations and the countrys law enforcement.

The current top leadership has resolved to target both high-ranking “tigers” and low-ranking “flies” in their anti-corruption effort. After taking the helm of the CPC in November 2012， Xi Jinping has led efforts to fight corruption while calling on the whole Party to remain vigilant. Xi has gone as far as to describe corruption as a threat to the Partys very survival. Xi vowed that there would be “no exceptions：” No leniency will be meted out， no matter who is involved.

The targeting of a member as highranking as Zhou will have the added benefit of deterring Party members and corrupt officials. According to the website of the CCDI， around 40 officials at the provincial and ministerial level or higher have been investigated for corruption or other serious disciplinary violations since November 2012.endprint

In June， authorities announced the investigation into Su Rong， then-Vice Chairman of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference National Committee， Chinas top advisory body， who had previously served as the Party chief in several provinces.

On July 30， Peoples Daily， the flagship newspaper of the CPC， published a commentary saying that betting on escape and entertaining the illusion that there is some kind of “safe box”would be foolish when it comes to the law and Party discipline.

Zhous case is another declaration that there should be no power exercised outside that allowed by institutions and there should be no CPC member whose behavior is outside the jurisdiction of the law and discipline， it added.

When Xinhua News Agency broke the story on Zhous investigation， it quickly went viral online. The news of the investigation came alongside an announcement that the Party will hold the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in October to discuss key issues concerning the promotion of the rule of law.

“Announcing Zhous case now is part of the preparations for the Fourth Plenary Session. The results of his investigation could be written in the documents reviewed by the meeting，”said Li Chengyan， a professor at the School of Government of Peking University.

Until Zhou， only four members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee have been investigated for graft since the reform and opening up started in the late 1970s. They were former Beijing Party chief Chen Xitong， former Shanghai Party chief Chen Liangyu， former Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai and former Vice Chairman of Chinas Central Military Commission Xu Caihou.

Standard procedures have been followed during the investigations against these top Party leaders. The CCDI， which is in charge of the investigation， will hand over a report on its conclusions to the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee for review. The political bureau will then decide whether or not to remove Zhou from all Party and government positions. After this， if Zhou is proved guilty， he will be dismissed from the public service， stripped of Party membership and transferred to judicial organs for prosecution.

The Peoples Daily commentary said that there is no member in the CPC who is above the Partys discipline， adding that officials and Party members will eventually pay the price if they unscrupulously pursue selfish ends or abuse their power.endprint

It also calls for efforts to enhance the sense of Party spirit， fortify the belief in the Party and strictly enforce the Party discipline among the CPC members.

Last October， Zhou visited the China University of Petroleums 60th anniversary celebration as an alumnus. It was the last time he was seen in public.

Family ties

With a formal investigation against Zhou being suspected for a long time， Party disciplinary authorities had been tightening the net for more than a year. A large cohort of Zhous one-time aides and proteges have been investigated since December 2012， including former Party and government leaders of Sichuan， former senior managers of the CNPC and a former minister of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Zhou was also considered a patron of disgraced Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai， who was convicted last year and is serving a life sentence for corruption， embezzlement and abuses of power.

Many of Zhous family members were also suspected of leveraging Zhous influence to amass their extraordinary wealth. Those investigated included his brother Zhou Yuanqing； his second wife， Jia Xiaoye； and various in-laws. On the same day Zhous investigation was announced， Chinese news magazine Caijing broke the news that Zhous eldest son Zhou Bin had been arrested by prosecutors in Yichang， central Chinas Hubei Province， on the charge of being involved in“illegal business operations.”

Reports by different Chinese media outlets have detailed how Zhou Bin， 42， built a business empire in oil and real estate through connections that were not explicitly stated but that clearly hinted at Zhou. Another news magazine， Caixin Century Weekly， reported in its online edition that Zhou Bin and his wife owned properties in Beijing that were valued as worth more than 130 million yuan （$21 million） in 2012. Zhou Bin has also been reported as participating in trading the rights to the state-owned oilfields for his own gain.endprint