Recently, former anti-terrorism commissioner Liu Yuejin of the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Public Security was prosecuted for allegedly retaining classified documents, sparking speculation.
Liu Yuejin was highly regarded during the time of Jiang faction members Meng Jianzhu and Guo Shengkun’s control of the political and legal system in the Chinese Communist Party. Analysts believe that within the CCP system, officials can only rise through corruption, and the anti-corruption campaigns are primarily internal power struggles.
On September 24, the official website of the CCP’s highest procuratorate announced that Liu Yuejin, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (deputy ministerial level), had completed an investigation into allegations of bribery and was transferred to the procuratorial authority for review and prosecution. The CCP’s highest procuratorate made an arrest decision against Liu Yuejin on suspicion of bribery.
Liu Yuejin was investigated in March this year, four years after stepping down as the first deputy ministerial-level anti-terrorism commissioner of the Ministry of Public Security. On September 11, officials reported Liu Yuejin’s crimes, including being “disloyal and dishonest to the Party,” obstructing supervision, “retaining classified documents without authorization,” and “committing illegal acts in law enforcement,” treating public power as a tool for personal gain, engaging in corrupt transactions, and illegally accepting substantial amounts of money, and more.
In 2001, Liu Yuejin entered the Ministry of Public Security and was successively promoted by Jiang faction members from the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Meng Jianzhu and Guo Shengkun. He has held positions such as deputy dean of the People’s Armed Police Academy, deputy director of the Anti-Drug Office of the Ministry of Public Security, executive deputy director of the National Anti-Drug Office, director of the Anti-Drug Office of the Ministry of Public Security. He was hailed as a “national second-class model of the public security system” by the Ministry of Public Security for leading the Mekong River “10.5 case” task force. In 2014, Liu Yuejin became a member of the CCP’s Ministry of Public Security Committee and assistant minister. In December 2015, the Ministry of Public Security established the position of anti-terrorism commissioner, and Liu Yuejin became the first anti-terrorism commissioner of the Ministry of Public Security.
The charge of “retaining classified documents without authorization” against Liu Yuejin has garnered attention.
In recent years, several high-ranking officials who have been taken down have been accused of similar charges of retaining classified information or documents, including former Secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee Zhou Benshun, former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Security Sun Lijun, former chairman of Bank of China Liu Lienge, former deputy director of China’s Development Bank Zhou Qingyu, former vice chairman of the Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress Economic Committee Wang Ying, former director of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Gansu Provincial Rural Credit Union Wang Rongsheng, former deputy inspector of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee Organization Department Peng Yimin, and many more officials.
Chen Shimin, associate professor of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University, said in an interview with The Epoch Times that the allegation of Liu Yuejin retaining classified documents should be seen as a reason for authorities to take him down, with some room for interpretation, but the real reason is internal power struggles.
Chen Shimin stated that corruption in the CCP’s authoritarian political system is a systemic issue, widely present. Over the past 12 years since Xi Jinping took office, it is clear that the anti-corruption campaign is primarily a means of power struggle.
“Wang Xiaohong represents the Xi faction, and under his control of the public security system, it is necessary to eliminate those from the non-Xi faction within the public security system, including Liu Yuejin under Meng Jianzhu, using reasons like retaining confidential documents and uncovering some corrupt issues as a reason for power struggle. Unless the CCP’s one-party dictatorship is eliminated, it is difficult to eradicate such systemic corruption issues.”
Gong Xiangsheng, deputy researcher at the Taiwan Institute of National Defense and Security Studies, told The Epoch Times that if Liu Yuejin had retained classified documents, it could have been for self-protection in case of trouble, but the content of the documents he kept is unclear, making it difficult to determine his motives.
Gong Xiangsheng said that the previous high praise from officials for Liu Yuejin may have been only because of his politically correct stance, but in politics, fortunes often change, and the rise and fall of the political arena after personnel changes often end in corruption scandals. The underlying problem lies in the preset space for continuing corruption among high-ranking CCP officials, with the greater the control of power, the higher the likelihood of collective corruption, making it hard for officials who do not engage in corruption to rise within the system.