President Xi Jinping – a crusader

LAHORE: Due to reach Pakistan Monday (today) to ink infrastructure and energy deals worth $45 billion during his two-day visit, the Seventh Chinese President Xi Jinping (born June 15, 1953) is highly respected both within and outside his country for being a real crusader against corruption, who has initiated bold cases against Army Generals, a former Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman, a senior Communist Party member and various heads of state-owned enterprises.
Since assuming charge as head of the state of the world’s most populous country on March 14, 2013 after receiving 2,952 votes, with just one vote polled against him, Xi Jinping had ordered probe against Xu Caihou, a Chinese Army general and Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission. The Chinese Military Commission happens to be the country’s top military council.
According to Chinese news agency “Xinhua,” General Xu was detained and investigated on suspicion of bribery in March 2014 in one of the highest profile corruption investigations in Chinese Army history and was expelled from the Communist Party in June of the same year.
Xu was undergoing legal proceedings and facing a court martial, but charges were dropped after he had died of bladder cancer in March 2015.
As Chinese President, General Secretary of the Communist Party and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the 61-year old Xi Jinping had then ordered action against the powerful Zhou Yongkang, senior leader of the Communist Party, which is the country’s highest decision-making body.
Zhou, who had overseen China’s security apparatus and law enforcement institutions with power stretching into courts, prosecution agencies, police forces, paramilitary forces and intelligence organs, was arrested in December 14, 2014 to face criminal charges, as well as his expulsion from the Communist Party.
Zhou Yongkang, who remains the most senior-ranked official since the founding of the People’s Republic of China to be investigated for corruption, was at the helm of the China National Petroleum Corporation between 1996 and 1998 and was the Minister of Land and Natural Resources until 1999.
On April 3, 2015, Zhou was charged with bribery, abuse of power and the intentional disclosure of state secrets.
(References: The CNN and the New York Times)
Lt. General Gu Junshan, who had also served as the Deputy Director of the General Logistics Department of the People’s Liberation Army, was removed from office in 2012, as the authorities had opened a far-reaching corruption investigation against him.
In January 12, 2013, investigators had descended on General Gu’s hometown to raid his family compound to find large crates of luxury liquor, a gold model boat and a gold Mao Zedong statue in storage.
Resultantly, the General’s assets were seized and in March 2014, he was charged with corruption, bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power by a military prosecutor.
He was the highest-ranked military official to be charged with corruption since 2006.
(References: The New York Times and the BBC)
President Xi Jinping’s crackdown against the corrupt Chinese officials had then tightened the noose around the neck of “Charley” Song Lin, the head of the China Resources, a state-owned conglomerate with interests in the beverages, consumer goods and food industries.
He was also the Chairman of China Resources Shenzhen International Trust and Harvest Capital Partners, an asset management and investment subsidiary of China Resources.
In 2014, Song Lin came under investigation for corruption and was dismissed from his positions, after a local publication had carried a story about the senior official maintaining a mistress and money laundering through her.
In 2012, Song Lin was listed as one of the “50 Most Influential Business Leaders” by the reputed “Fortune” magazine of United States and his profile was also published by another esteemed American publication “Business Week.”
Yet another former Chinese politician and a senior economic official, Liu Tienan, who had served on key positions at the country’s National Energy Administration and the National Development and Reforms Commission etc, was investigated and dismissed for corruption-related offences in 2013.
While Liu’s son was detained by the authorities in January 2013, he and his wife were taken into custody from their apartment in Beijing just months later.
On August 8, 2013, Liu was expelled from the Communist Party of China and in December 2014, he was convicted on charges of bribery and was sentenced to life in prison.
The state had also confiscated all his personal property.
Song Lin also faced charges of faking his academic credentials, receiving large kickbacks from a businessman involved in an overseas bank loan fraud and for issuing death threats to his mistress after the relationship between the two had gone sour.
(References: September 24, 2014 edition of the BBC and the New York Times)