Recently disgraced Shanxi provincial governor Jin Xiangjun, who was previously known as the “chief steward” of Tianjin Municipal Party Secretary Li Hongzhong. Reports suggest that when Jin Xiangjun started his position in Shanxi, he was secretly bugged by then-provincial Party Secretary Lan Fo’an. Lan is said to be a close aide of Xi Jinping’s confidant, He Lifeng. Mainland media has previously exposed the prevalence of eavesdropping devices in political infighting where interception has become a common practice.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced on the evening of April 12 that Shanxi Provincial Governor Jin Xiangjun was under investigation. He became the first provincial governor to fall from grace while in office since the 20th National Congress of the CCP.
Jin Xiangjun’s sudden investigation came just two days after he chaired a regular meeting of the provincial government. The official reason for his downfall was not disclosed, but according to reports from Caixin, there are rumors in political circles that besides corruption, Jin Xiangjun might have committed a major political taboo, that is, “violating political discipline and rules.”
Jin Xiangjun had previously served as Tianjin Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary and Secretary-General, handpicked by the then-Tianjin Municipal Party Secretary, Li Hongzhong, as a trusted lieutenant and “chief steward.”
Political commentator Cai Shenkun stated in a self-produced media program that during the 20th National Congress of the CCP, when Xi Jinping was re-elected, he accepted some recommendations from Li Hongzhong, including Jin Xiangjun. After Li Hongzhong moved to Beijing, Jin Xiangjun was transferred to Vice Secretary and Governor of Shanxi Province.
Cai Shenkun recently revealed on an X platform that “Jin Xiangjun had just taken office as governor in Shanxi, and the provincial Party Secretary was the current Minister of Finance, Lan Fo’an. Lan Fo’an was the favorite confidant of former Minister of Finance, Liu Kun, who is a close friend of He Lifeng. Lan Fo’an secretly arranged personnel to install listening and video equipment in Jin Xiangjun’s dormitory and office. It remains a mystery whether Lan Fo’an was wary of Jin Xiangjun’s actions or was simply following orders from higher up. Jin Xiangjun quickly discovered these electronic monitoring devices. Jin Xiangjun graduated with a major in computer science and had been working in computer management and information security before being transferred to Guangxi. If he had not entered politics, he would likely have been a skilled computer expert.”
He Lifeng had a close relationship with Xi Jinping in his early years in Fujian and was considered Xi’s confidant. He, along with former Minister of Finance Liu Kun, were university classmates. He, Liu, and Lan Fo’an all hail from Guangdong.
Epoch Times could not verify Cai Shenkun’s revelations, but the prevalence of mutual surveillance in CCP political circles has long been exposed.
Around the time of Xi Jinping’s rise to power, stories about the inner workings of high-ranking officials like Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, and Ling Jihua being involved in power struggles were often reported. At that time, telephone eavesdropping was the most commonly used “technical method.”
Bloomberg reported that Zhou Yongkang had utilized the national security and public security systems to collect information on the family assets, private lives, and political stances of senior CCP officials using telephone monitoring and other methods.
The Hong Kong Apple Daily reported that on August 2, 2017, it was rumored that Zhang Zhiwen, the former director of the Armed Police Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, who had previously served as the head of the 12th Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security (Technical Reconnaissance Bureau) during Zhou Yongkang’s era, was responsible for monitoring high-ranking officials such as Wang Qishan.
After the incidents involving Wang Lijun and Bo Xilai came to light, The Washington Post published a commentary on February 19, 2012, stating that eavesdropping among CCP officials had become rampant, with mutual mistrust prevailing. Bo Xilai was known to have eavesdropped on high-ranking CCP officials.
The Hong Kong Ming Pao reported that when Wang Lijun was the director of the Public Security Bureau, he was investigated for allegedly illegally wiretapping the hotline of Hu Jintao’s office and for corruption issues.
The Hong Kong Asia Weekly reported that the incident that most angered the top officials in Zhongnanhai (the CCP leadership compound) was when the Chongqing administration eavesdropped on the movements and private conversations of central leaders. While Xi Jinping, He Guoqiang, Li Yuanchao, and others were inspecting Chongqing, Wang Lijun organized surveillance. He repeatedly passed on important information to Bo Xilai. Wang Lijun also established a relationship with the Central Security Bureau to learn about the movements and secrets of the top leaders.
Additionally, former Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary Ling Jihua reportedly used the general manager of the Jingxi Guesthouse, Liu Cunshui, to wiretap the phones of the representatives attending meetings at the Jingxi Guesthouse, thereby gaining information on the privacy and hobbies of many senior officials at the provincial and ministerial levels.
It has been reported that general CCP officials have widely adopted advanced surveillance equipment. By the end of 2012, Chinese media extensively reported the story of a man named Qi Hong, who specialized in dismantling professional high-end eavesdropping devices. In 2011, he removed over 300 bugs for more than 100 officials. During his busiest week, he dismantled 40 bugs.
Qi Hong said that CCP officials frequently use spy devices on each other. Some are trying to catch their superiors’ weaknesses to replace them, some are plotting against competitors, and some use them to assess subordinates to maintain control. Bugs are often installed in officials’ cars, offices, or bedrooms.
At a dinner in Shanxi, an official disclosed that officials widely use spy devices, spying on each other, digging for dirt, causing deputies to quickly advance to the main position… “Now, when we meet, we must hug each other, take the opportunity to pat each other to check for devices; important discussions need to be held at bathing centers.” It is said that this statement shocked those present.
The report suggests that officials’ spy devices come from their wives, lovers, colleagues, and competitors.
The Washington Post stated that uncontrolled monitoring has permeated the entire CCP bureaucracy.
In the past, the prevalent technological means used in CCP power struggles were traditional phone tapping, with secret filming also becoming common in CCP circles.
In recent years, numerous scandals in the CCP bureaucracy have been exposed, most of which were related to secret filming. For instance, citizen journalist Zhu Ruifeng revealed the Chongqing Lei Zhengfu-Zhao Hongxia sex tape scandal in 2012, leading to the downfall of over ten senior officials in the Chongqing government; former deputy mayor of Beijing, Liu Zhihua was brought down by a 60-minute video of his involvement in sexual activities in Hong Kong; Henan Zhoukou businesswoman Yang Rui treated officials to revelry at a secret club in the Meilin Hotel, arranging female attendants, and recorded many pornographic videos in the process.
The CCP has recently emphasized “modernizing the national governance system and governance capabilities.” Outsiders believe this signifies that the authorities will enhance the use of technologies such as facial recognition for monitoring and governing, potentially leading to high-tech power struggles within the CCP.
Commentator Chen Pokong, residing in the United States, mentioned in a program that any tool, any advanced weapon could be a double-edged sword. Today, the CCP’s facial recognition primarily targets the people. If CCP’s internal power struggles or conflicts escalate to a certain extent, there is no ruling out the mutual use of high-tech against opponents, including facial recognition or fingerprint recognition technologies. Once identification reaches this point, even senior CCP officials would have no sense of security, and the possibility of even the party and the nation’s top leaders being targeted is not excluded.
He noted that in case of a coup or assassination within the CCP in the future, more precise high-tech means could be used against each other, then they would realize the taste of “using the weapon against oneself” and eventually “playing with fire would lead to self-immolation”.
Is it pretty long enough for you?