The trial of a corrupt Chinese official in 2021 (Photo: Xinhua).
China’s anti-corruption campaign hit a new record last year, with the ruling Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog (CCDI) investigating 45 senior officials, according to SCMP figures. That surpassed the previous record of 38 in 2014.
China recorded this record number five years after President Xi Jinping declared a "resounding victory" in the fight against corruption, a campaign he launched in 2013. The current developments show the determination of Chinese officials in their efforts to clean up the apparatus.
Most of those investigated are known as "big tigers", referring to figures in the group of "central management cadres". A smaller number of them hold slightly lower positions but occupy key positions in important fields.
Unlike lower-level officials who are managed and supervised by local party disciplinary bodies, the group of senior officials is directly managed by the Central Organization Department, the highest personnel body of the Communist Party of China.
If any suspicion of wrongdoing is found, they will face top-level investigations from the CCDI.
According to further research, 27 out of 45 senior officials were investigated after they had retired.
Deng Yuwen, former deputy editor-in-chief of the Study Times, the official newspaper of the Central Party School, said the CCDI’s investigation of retired officials could help China uncover more wrongdoing before Xi took power. It also sends a signal that retirement does not mean officials are safe.
"The CCDI no longer follows the previous unwritten rule that retired officials would not be investigated. Now, no one is safe. There is no sign that Xi will stop the anti-corruption campaign," he said.
According to SCMP statistics, a total of 294 senior officials have been fired in the 11 years since the anti-corruption campaign was launched.
There are clear signs that China's "tiger hunt" campaign will expand further in 2024, said a political scientist at Peking University.
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