China's never-ending battle against corruption

Recently, there has been a spate of news of investigations and dismissals of high-ranking officials in China - from state-owned enterprises to the financial system, and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

In the past month or so, it has been confirmed that three members of the 20th Central Committee are in trouble, with the authorities remaining tight-lipped on the reasons. At the same time, this highlights the firm determination of the authorities in their high-pressure efforts against corruption and to clean up the officialdom.

The latest shocking wave of clean-up involves the PLA's Rocket Force. With a wave of the hand, the commander and political commissar were replaced, drastically changing the Rocket Force's top brass. This also signals that there is most likely some truth to the rumours that the two former deputy commanders are also under investigation.

In these sensitive times, the absence of PLA Strategic Support Force commander Ju Qiansheng during the 96th anniversary celebration of the founding of the PLA on 31 July has sparked suspicions from the media that the clean-up of the PLA is not limited to the Rocket Force, and Ju might also be in trouble.

News about the investigation of former Rocket Force commander Li Yuchao emerged at the end of June when he was absent from the promotion ceremony of the Rocket Force. However, it was only on 31 July, during the ceremony where promotions to the rank of general were announced by the Central Military Commission, that Li's departure, along with former Rocket Force political commissar Xu Zhongbo, was indirectly confirmed with the appointment of navy officer Wang Houbin and air force officer Xu Xisheng in their place respectively.

Neither Wang nor Xu Xisheng had served in the Rocket Force before, and this unusual cross-branch promotion in the armed forces indicates that China's top leadership has appointed two "outsiders" to take charge of this critical military branch, which holds a special military status and is described as the "core strength of China's strategic deterrence".

While there is no talk of 62-year-old Xu Zhongbo being under investigation, his removal before 65 - the usual retirement age for a theatre command leader - raises concerns. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) also cited sources saying that the deputy commander of the Rocket Force Liu Guangbin and former deputy commander Zhang Zhenzhong are under investigation.

People are also reminded of Wu Guohua, a retired former deputy commander of the Rocket Force, who passed away on 4 July of this year. All in all, the frequent situations involving high-ranking personnel within this important military branch are shocking.

According to SCMP, this series of investigations was initiated in late March after the retirement of Wei Fenghe, former defence minister and the first commander of the Rocket Force. People are wondering how many more individuals will be implicated in this aggressive anti-corruption campaign, as they sense the brewing storm.

Less than a week ago, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang was dismissed as foreign minister with no official explanation. Li Yuchao, Xu Zhongbo and Qin Gang became members of the 20th Central Committee in October of last year, and the authorities have not announced whether they have broken discipline. However, unfavourable rumours about them have been flying, and the authorities have not refuted them.

Some overseas commentators are asking: "What is happening in China?" Undoubtedly, this reflects China's highly opaque system, which is clearly at odds with what modern society demands.

Meanwhile, it also clearly demonstrates that even after the 20th National Congress when the power of the top leaders was consolidated, the party has not slackened in its anti-corruption efforts and strict governance, as errant high-level officials are held accountable without hesitation or avoiding the repercussions.

According to incomplete statistics, since the start of the year, more than 60 finance officials at the provincial level and above have been investigated; since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s 20th Party Congress, 32 provincial-level "tigers" have already fallen from grace.

In addition to disciplinary and regulatory violations, China's higher-ups also showed no leniency when it comes to punishing officials for dereliction of duty or laziness. For example, when the State Council's accident investigation team released a report in May after a year-long investigation into the tragic collapse of a building in Changsha city last year, Chongqing mayor Hu Henghua was among those held accountable for the incident and received a warning from the CCP. Hu had already left his position as Changsha party secretary for a year and a half at the time of the Changsha building collapse.

Based on this trend, it is possible that former Foreign Minister Qin Gang was removed from his position solely because of his personal affairs.

A decade has passed since China started its anti-corruption drive in the wake of the 18th Party Congress. Despite the strict handling, however, the fact that there are still so many "tigers" who have lost their favour shows that corruption is indeed a longstanding problem in Chinese officialdom.

Some Chinese media outlets even likened the corruption scandals uncovered in several cities to a "relay race". For example, three Kunming party secretaries were embroiled in corruption scandals one after another; Gao Jinsong, the last party secretary to be probed, continued his corrupt ways even after the 18th Party Congress in 2012.

Three consecutive Taiyuan party secretaries also fell from grace because of corruption. Ironically, although former Taiyuan party secretary Chen Chuanping was found to have accepted 910,000 RMB (about US$127,000) in bribes in 2016, his driver and secretary were found to have accepted a higher sum of 930,000 RMB. Clearly, there are plenty of opportunities for corruption by the people around a chief official. If the chief official is unaware of the situation, a small corruption circle will form.

It is clear that China's battle against corruption is far from over. Based on Lianhe Zaobao's understanding, some mid-level officials in the judicial systems of developed cities have shocking net worths. However, they could simply admit to minor offences and get away with minimal terms after an investigation if they are not involved in any political issues.

Essentially, the root of corruption stems from China's highly centralised and unified power system. At each level, power is highly concentrated and the chief official has great decision-making power. His subordinates and the people can hardly keep him in check amid the lack of transparency. It is extremely difficult to prevent corruption at its root - even if ideological education work is ramped up, the relay race of corruption cannot be completely contained.

These years of high-pressure anti-corruption efforts are an overt attack and deterrence against corruption. Although it has been effective in restraining people on a large scale, some have simply switched from overt to covert corruption.

However, since it is difficult for China to create an alternative system to replace the existing one in the short term, such high-pressure and deterrent anti-corruption work must always be "on the road" and in full force. Take a moment's respite and past efforts may go to waste.

Today, some people have already grown numb towards the achievements of China's anti-corruption campaign. The generated tension has also affected the enthusiasm of officials - a price that the authorities have to pay. Only time will tell what long-term impacts it would have on China's development.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as "中国高压反腐为何只能永远在路上".

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