China’s ruling Communist Party says it has probed almost 5 million members for possible corruption over the last decade, with formal criminal cases brought against 553. Whether that will curb a widening economic slowdown and restore faith in the authoritarian system remains unclear. The party has 96 million members and has long run its own internal system of keeping cadres in line through a mix of offering privileges and the threat of severe punishment for taking bribes, selling offices or otherwise abusing their authority.
At a new briefing Monday on the sidelines of the party’s national congress held every five years, deputy secretary of the party’s Committee for Discipline and Inspection Xiao Pei said 207,000 party officials in total had been handed some form of punishment in the ten years since party leader Xi Jinping took power.
“Corruption is the easiest way to subvert a regime, and anti-corruption is the most thorough self-reform,” Xiao said.
“The report of the 20th National Congress of the Party has made an important assessment that in the new era, we carried out an unprecedented fight against corruption, achieved an overwhelming victory and fully cemented the gains,” he said.
Now seeking a third term as head of the party, government and military, Xi has made fighting corruption a key signature of his administration.
Xiao said figures show most of those caught up by anti-graft investigators had been long term offenders and just 11% of those punished had committed their first offence in the past five years.
“The anti-corruption campaign can only move forward, not backward. We must resolutely win the critical and long-term battle against corruption,” Xiao said.
One of Xi’s signature policies, the anti-corruption campaign been largely popular with the public and conveniently enabled him to sideline potential rivals.
A former justice minister and a former deputy public security minister received suspended death sentences last month after being convicted on various charges of bribe taking and other abuses of office.
“This is a way for Xi Jinping to give a warning to cadres in the police and state security system to remain absolutely loyal to himself,” said Willy Lam, Senior Fellow of the Jamestown Foundation.
“Any corruption campaign will continue and it will spread to other areas, including the financial and economic sectors,” he said.
The congress will install leaders for the next five years.
Xi, 69, is expected to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as general secretary and promote allies who share his enthusiasm for party dominance.
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