On the evening of January 7th, CCTV, the official television broadcaster of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), aired a special program exposing the corrupt activities of Tang Yijun, former Minister of Justice of the CCP. The report shed light on some of the darker secrets of the corruption case involving Tang Yijun.
It was revealed that Tang Yijun’s wife, Xuan Minjie, actually controlled a total of 34 investment companies. Through these 34 shadow companies, the couple engaged in corrupt practices, involving large-scale bribery and illicit dealings.
Xuan Minjie’s controlled companies numbered 19 from 2005 to 2012, and 15 from 2012 to 2024, spanning the period from the CCP’s 18th National Congress to the time of Tang Yijun’s downfall.
Xuan Minjie had been involved in financial and economic work for many years, holding executive positions in state-owned enterprises, before venturing into business in 2005. At that time, Tang Yijun was serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party Committee and the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province.
According to the CCTV report, Xuan Minjie’s first big windfall came from a real estate project she collaborated on with a business, leveraging Tang Yijun’s influence, which yielded over 5 million yuan in profit with zero initial investment.
From 2012 to 2017, a technology company acquired a small company controlled by Xuan Minjie, granting her 4.5 million shares of original stock. Following the successful listing of this company with Tang Yijun’s assistance, the value of the original stock skyrocketed, resulting in a profit of over 40 million yuan for Xuan Minjie.
Tang Yijun’s method of profiteering was clandestine, operating behind the scenes through his wife who, in turn, operated through multiple proxy holders. Together, they manipulated the 34 shadow companies to amass wealth through their abuse of power. The accumulated profits from these 34 companies over the years are speculated to be well over a billion yuan.
On April 2, 2024, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that Tang Yijun was under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law. On October 7 of the same year, Tang Yijun was expelled from the CCP and dismissed from his public office, with his suspected criminal offenses handed over to the judicial authorities for review and prosecution.
The CCDI’s report cited Tang Yijun’s severe violations of political discipline, organizational discipline, integrity discipline, work discipline, and personal life discipline within the Party, constituting serious breaches of duty and suspicion of bribery crimes. Despite the crackdown on corruption initiated by Xi Jinping, provided that promoting and using corrupt officials naturally leads to the corruption of power. Xi Jinping acknowledged that fighting against corruption is tantamount to a thorough self-revolution and reaffirmed the CCP’s commitment to ensuring that any leniency or hesitation in the anti-corruption process would pose a subversive mistake.
Moving forward, investigating and holding accountable corrupt officials, especially concerning their appointments, should be a top priority in the CCP’s anti-corruption efforts. However, the question arises whether Xi Jinping has taken any actions or made any statements regarding those central leaders who promoted and utilized corrupt individuals like Tang Yijun, such as Zha Leji.
The promotion and utilization of Tang Yijun were also influenced by Liu Feng, former Deputy Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee and chairman of the Provincial Political Consultative Conference. Prior to that, Liu Feng had established a close relationship with Zhao Ximin, who was originally from Shaanxi Province but relocated to Xi’an with his family, leaving Zhao Leji behind in Qinghai.
Liu Feng, working in the Qinghai province, played a significant role in Zhao Leji’s career progression as he grasped various roles in the provincial government. In this juncture, it is crucial to bring to light the intricacies of the prevalent corruption within the CCP, especially in terms of personnel management.
Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has resulted in the investigation and removal of numerous high-ranking officials, yet there seems to be a cyclical pattern where corrupt individuals are ousted, only to be succeeded by a new batch of corrupt officials. This pattern persists due to the lack of accountability among the central leadership for appointing these corrupt individuals.
The current anti-corruption efforts within the CCP show a perpetuating cycle of investigating and promoting corrupt officials, highlighting the urgent need for structural reforms and greater accountability within the Party to combat systemic corruption effectively.