On July 13, eight officials from various departments including the Chinese Communist Party’s political and legal committee, United Front Work Department, energy and petrochemical industries, mine safety, ethnic affairs, universities, and local People’s Congress system were investigated on the same day. Among those taken away for questioning were officials overseeing local political and legal affairs and United Front Work, the general manager of a large energy group, and the head of mine safety supervision department. Some of them were still in office, with a few yet to reach the peak of their careers. Insiders revealed that the CCP is accelerating a new wave of cleansing, targeting officials deemed “disloyal to the Party.”
According to news from Southern Net on July 14, the official briefing on the 13th revealed that Bai Ping, member of the standing committee of Shandong Jining Municipal Committee, secretary of the political and legal committee, and concurrently the minister of United Front Work Department, was investigated. Bai Ping held dual roles in political and legal affairs as well as United Front Work, involving local public security bureau, courts, procuratorates, and United Front affairs. Wu Liyuan, the general manager of Fujian Energy and Petrochemical Group, and Hu Haijun, the director of the Shanxi Bureau of National Mine Safety Supervision, were also under investigation on the same day. The CCP official statement only cited “serious violations of discipline and law” without specifying the cases or reasons for investigation involving these three individuals.
On the same day, other officials investigated included Yang Wu, director of the ethnic affairs committee in Gansu Province; Han Mai, party secretary of Daqing Medical College; Ding Zhixue, former director of the financial and economic committee of the Guizhou Provincial People’s Congress; Lu Jiancheng, former deputy general manager of China Petrochemical Corporation’s Zhanjiang Dongxing Petrochemical Co., Ltd.; and Tian Lin, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Zhoukou City. Southern Net later summarized the above briefing as “8 officials investigated on the same day,” with several of them still holding positions.
The release of this list coincided with the upcoming Beidaihe conference. He Ting, an insider within the CCP system, revealed to the media, “The cleaning of these officials is laying the groundwork for personnel arrangements at the top level of the CCP’s 21st National Congress. Top-level personnel decisions will be made next year, so it is not suitable to reveal prematurely who will be promoted or continue in office. By starting with mid-level and lower-level cadres now, the direct impact on senior officials is not significant, but it can create a strong deterrent effect.”
He Ting disclosed that the cleanup of mid-level cadres was decided in January this year and that such actions are accelerating in the second half of the year. He said, “There are too many corrupt officials and too many disloyal ones. The so-called disloyalty refers to complaining and ridiculing leaders. I don’t need to tell you who you offended by doing so; those people are not to be messed with.”
Among the eight individuals investigated, except for Ding Zhixue and Lu Jiancheng, the remaining six were investigated while in office. Bai Ping was investigated while still serving as a member of the standing committee of Jining Municipal Committee and secretary of the political and legal committee, as well as the minister of United Front Work Department; Tian Lin was investigated while serving as a member of the Communist Party committee and deputy director of the Standing Committee of Zhoukou Municipal People’s Congress.
Scholar He Dian, familiar with the CCP officialdom, told reporters that there exists a vast web of relationships within the CCP officialdom, making it difficult for outsiders to enter. Officials under investigation often have powerful backers, and in this round of purges, many officials implicated had backers who have fallen out of favor or have also been investigated. He stated, “I’ve heard that these officials were all ‘mud’ dug up from the ground. There is a new rule among the higher-ups now: when investigating a person, they also investigate anyone vouching for them. Currently, no one dares to vouch for others, making each investigation more targeted. Before these individuals were promoted, they went through file checks and political examinations. Corruption may not have been an issue initially, but when they start affecting the bigger picture, they must step down.”
He Dian further explained, “Several years ago when these officials were appointed, was there no vetting process in place? Or were the issues uncovered but they were still retained in service? The problem is simple: these officials didn’t start becoming corrupt recently. Every promotion they received was paving the way for themselves and their successors. Facilitating their own advancement involves bribery; promoting successors is buying office, all of which are illegal.”
Of the eight individuals investigated, two came from the energy and petrochemical sector. Wu Liyuan, prior to being investigated, held the position of deputy secretary of the party committee and general manager of Fujian Energy and Petrochemical Group; Lu Jiancheng previously served as the deputy general manager of Zhanjiang Dongxing Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary under China Petrochemical Corporation. It was not disclosed by the CCP disciplinary department whether there were any connections between the cases of these two individuals.
Mr. Wang, retired from PetroChina, told reporters that for over twenty years, China’s energy industry has been mainly dominated by CCP state-owned enterprises. The supervisory department of the oil system and senior officials of state-owned enterprises control rights over oil and gas projects, equipment procurement, engineering tendering, land use, and administrative approvals, which could determine whether contractors and related enterprises are allowed into projects. After Zhou Yongkang fell from grace following his long tenure in the oil system, a group of his old subordinates and interest networks within the oil system were purged.
He said, “Since Xi Jinping came to power, many executives from sectors like oil, electricity, and coal have been investigated. These systems are no longer controlled by the old relationships from the eras of Jiang Zemin, Li Peng, and Zhou Yongkang. The issue is who manages the oil being corrupt. With these two senior petrochemical executives falling from grace, it once again exposes the lack of internal supervision within state-owned enterprises, as regardless of who comes to supervise, the outcome remains the same.”
Mr. Wang mentioned that since January this year, almost every day there are reports of officials being investigated, regardless of their rank. This type of all-encompassing anti-corruption effort is clearly following in the footsteps of North Korea. He stated, “All the wealth in the world belongs to me. Before you engage in corruption, think clearly whose money this belongs to. Don’t think it’s taxpayers’ money; this is a sign of disloyalty to the Party.”