Chinese Community Party’s (CCP) political tool, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which was earlier responsible to check against corruption, is now being used by Chinese President Xi Jinping to eliminate his political adversaries.
This political unit has changed its focus from ‘corruption’ to `behaviour modification/bureaucratic inefficiency’.
An assessment of cases handled by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the political tool has started working towards eliminating the political adversaries of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
An assessment of the cases handled by CCDI between 2019-2021 revealed that over 54 pc of the cases were performance-related compared to 46 pc for financial corruption.
This indicates that the party has started targeting officials/cadres for not adhering to party directives regarding efficiency or losing connection with people.
The primary target of such crackdowns has also changed from ‘tigers’ (senior officials) to ‘flies’ (county-level officials). Between 2017-2021, the number of county-level officials charged by CCDI has risen nearly by 20 pc.
CCDI has also been directed by leadership to focus down to the local level as corruption at grass root level could threaten the party’s legitimacy.