On December 3, Li Gang, former head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team of the Central Organization Department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 6 million RMB by the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court.
The court found that from the first half of 1998 to June 2024, Li Gang used his positions as deputy county magistrate of Dayi County in Chengdu, deputy secretary of the Dayi County Committee, vice secretary of the Communist Party in Wenjiang District of Chengdu, county magistrate in Wenjiang District, executive deputy director of the management committee of Chengdu Strait Technology Industrial Development Zone, secretary of the Wenjiang District Committee in Chengdu, party group secretary and director of the Sichuan Province Investment Promotion Bureau, secretary of the Bazhong Municipal Committee in Sichuan Province, secretary of the Zigong Municipal Committee in Sichuan Province, vice governor of Sichuan Province, standing committee member and Minister of the Organization Department of the Yunnan Provincial Committee, etc., to receive bribes of over 102 million RMB.
Li Gang is the first “billionaire corrupt official” investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision stationed in central and national organs, and he is a billionaire corrupt official who continued to take bribes while serving as the head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team of the Central Organization Department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision. He is also a corrupt official who was “promoted with illness” for 26 years from 1998 to 2024.
In August 2016, the General Office of the Central Committee issued the “Opinions on Preventing the Promotion of Cadres with Health Problems.” The first article stipulates that “Party committees (party organizations) are responsible for the selection and employment of personnel, with the party committee (party organization) secretaries as the primary responsible persons, and the organizational personnel departments and discipline inspection and supervision organs bearing direct responsibility and supervisory responsibility.”
Article 6 states, “Establish and improve a cadre accountability mechanism for ‘promotion with illness,’ where Party committees (party organizations) and organizational personnel departments and discipline inspection and supervision organs, in accordance with their responsibilities, implement accountability… for cadres who are affected by violations of political qualities, moral conduct, integrity and self-discipline in terms of appointment, but are promoted due to weak leadership, lax oversight, inaccurate evaluations, lack of thorough verification, concealment, or deliberate promotion, leading to the appointment of cadres with ‘illness.’ The concerns need to be strictly investigated according to relevant regulations, distinguishing different circumstances, and holding the party committees (party organizations), organizational personnel departments, discipline inspection and supervision organs, the main responsible persons of the cadre inspection team, and relevant leaders and responsible persons accountable.”
Li Gang was “promoted with illness” for 26 years in two phases: when he was promoted to deputy county magistrate until a bureau-level official, the primary responsibility lay with the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee and government; when he was promoted to deputy ministerial-level official, the primary responsibility lied with the Central Organization Department, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and the CPC Central Committee.
Li Gang was promoted to deputy ministerial-level official at three time points.
The first time point was in August 2020 when Li Gang was appointed as the vice governor of Sichuan Province.
Who was responsible for inspecting Li Gang at that time? It was Chen Xi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Central Organization Department. Chen Xi was the primary responsible person for inspecting Li Gang; Zhao Leji, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, was responsible for supervising whether Li Gang was clean in terms of integrity.
Inspection reports proposing the promotion of Li Gang had to be discussed and approved by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, was the primary responsible person of the Political Bureau.
Therefore, the main responsible persons for Li Gang’s “promotion with illness” to be the vice governor of Sichuan Province were Chen Xi, Zhao Leji, and Xi Jinping.
The second time point was July 2021 when Li Gang was transferred to be a member of the Organization Department of the Yunnan Provincial Committee and Minister of the Organization Department. This transfer was an inter-regional and cross-departmental move, with the new position being more important than his previous one in Sichuan Province.
When Li Gang moved from Sichuan to Yunnan, inspections were carried out by Chen Xi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Central Organization Department, Zhao Leji, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and finally approved by Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
Therefore, the main responsible persons for Li Gang’s “promotion with illness” from Sichuan to Yunnan were Chen Xi, Zhao Leji, and Xi Jinping.
The third time point was in October 2023 when Li Gang was transferred to be the head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team of the Central Organization Department of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision. This was a move from the local level to the central level. The importance of this assignment was self-evident, as he was the “special envoy minister” representing the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision to supervise and inspect the officials at the Central Organization Department.
When Li Gang moved from Yunnan to Beijing, who was responsible for the inspection? It was Li Ganjie, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Central Organization Department; Li Ganjie was the primary responsible person for “promoting with illness” Li Gang; Li Xi, a current member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, was responsible for supervising whether Li Gang was clean in terms of integrity. Li Xi was the primary responsible person for determining whether Li Gang was clean.
For Li Gang to be transferred from Yunnan to Beijing, the approval of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee was necessary. Xi Jinping, as the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, was the primary responsible person of the Political Bureau.
Therefore, the main responsible persons for Li Gang’s “promotion with illness” from Yunnan to Beijing were Li Ganjie, Li Xi, and Xi Jinping.
According to the “Opinions on Preventing the Promotion of Cadres with Health Problems,” Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, was the primary responsible person for the “sick promotion” of Li Gang to be a deputy ministerial-level official; the two successive members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and heads of the Central Organization Department, Chen Xi and Li Ganjie, were directly responsible for the “sick promotion” of Li Gang to be a deputy ministerial-level official; and the two successive members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretaries of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Zhao Leji and Li Xi, were responsible for supervising the “sick promotion” of Li Gang to be a deputy ministerial-level official.
In conclusion, returning to the title of this article, who promoted the “traitor” Li Gang of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection? The answer: Xi Jinping was the primary responsible person; Chen Xi, Li Ganjie were directly responsible persons; Zhao Leji, Li Xi were supervisory responsible persons.
On November 30, the official publication of the CPC Central Committee, “Seeking Truth,” published an article by Xi Jinping titled “Promoting the Party’s Self-Revolution Must Achieve ‘Five Further Steps in Place.'” Xi said in the article, “Over the years, I have talked a lot about the Party’s self-revolution, and the Party Central Committee has taken many measures. The key is to implement them to truly achieve the desired results.”
So, will Xi Jinping, Chen Xi, Li Ganjie, and Li Xi carry out a “self-revolution” regarding the “sick promotion” of Li Gang?
This content was first published by Dajiyuan.