Chinese Leader Xi Jinping Launches Nationwide Campaign Against Petty Corruption
Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping is conducting a campaign against petty corruption nationwide, with authorities intensifying efforts to crack down on corruption at the grassroots level. Analysts believe that Xi Jinping’s call for the anti-corruption movement to extend to the grassroots level is significant in the current context, as the Chinese Communist Party is facing increasing hostility from the international community, ineffective governance internally, and the general public’s growing resentment towards the regime, indicating instability at the grassroots level.
Recently, The Wall Street Journal stated that Xi Jinping’s latest campaign against petty corruption is one of the measures taken by the Chinese Communist Party to address the social repercussions of the overall economic challenges, including a sluggish real estate market and high youth unemployment rates, weakening consumer confidence, triggering social unrest, and intensifying criticisms of Xi Jinping’s economic governance approach.
This law enforcement action is seen as elevating Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption efforts to a new level. Over a decade ago, Xi Jinping initiated this movement to cultivate a populist image for himself and to solidify the Communist Party’s grip on power.
During the Chinese Communist Party’s Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection earlier this year, all seven members of the Political Bureau Standing Committee attended. Xi Jinping emphasized the need for anti-corruption efforts to extend to the grassroots level. The meeting also called for continued crackdown on “petty corruption.”
In response, Lai Rongwei, Executive Director of the Taiwan Inspirational Association, told Epoch Times that the Chinese Communist Party is an authoritarian regime, and its fight against corruption is just a tool for political struggles. Xi Jinping’s call to extend the anti-corruption campaign to the grassroots level indicates the instability of the regime at the grassroots level.
“There are many voices within the Chinese Communist Party opposing Xi Jinping or dissenting with his policies, gradually emerging from various provinces and grassroots levels. Especially in the past two years, Xi Jinping’s economic policies have been disastrous, leading to social instability and growing discontent, which is spreading quietly and becoming almost uncontrollable.” Lai Rongwei said.
Yao Yaoyuan, a Professor of International Studies at St. Thomas University in the United States, also believes that Xi Jinping’s primary goal in this anti-corruption campaign is to conduct a major purge against political enemies from different factions.
Yao Yaoyuan told Epoch Times that another purpose of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption efforts this time is to redistribute resources. He said, “The Communist Party’s anti-corruption campaign is essentially a process of shifting money from party A to party B. In simple terms, fighting corruption is about determining who can access these hidden resources.”
Following the Chinese Communist Party’s Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection earlier this year, the official Chinese media People’s Daily published an article titled “Punishing ‘Petty Corruption’ Makes It Tangible for the People.” The article cited illegal practices such as cracking down on the protection racket by the underworld.
Quoting official reports, the article mentioned that since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, supervisory authorities nationwide have investigated 768,000 cases of corruption, disciplined 628,000 individuals, and referred 20,000 individuals to the procuratorate.
Commenting on this, Lai Rongwei pointed out that the timing of the Chinese Communist Party’s initiation of the anti-“petty corruption” campaign is noteworthy. With China’s deteriorating economy, growing international conflicts, inept governance internally, and the public’s increasing resentment towards the regime, pushing for anti-corruption efforts at the grassroots level is unlikely to yield results.
“Xi Jinping’s call to advance anti-corruption efforts at the grassroots level will not be effective. The anti-corruption campaign in China has been ongoing for so many years, and if you look at the comments of the Chinese people on social media, they mock the Communist Party’s anti-corruption efforts, as it only targets small fry and not the big fish.” Lai Rongwei said.
Yao Yaoyuan believes that the Chinese Communist Party’s fight against corruption will always remain just a slogan since the entire system is corrupt. It is impossible for the party to root out corruption and defeat itself. The core essence of this matter is that the Chinese Communist Party seeks to control the entire Chinese society through corruption and anti-corruption measures. Only when the Communist Party disintegrates can Chinese society move towards a path of democracy and freedom.