China’s political elites get a message on loyalty ahead of party congress
- Central Committee endorses ‘lenient’ punishment of senior official for wrongdoings that took place before Xi Jinping took power
- Li Jia – accused of ‘vote rigging in party elections’ and breaking the rules by asking about efforts to fight corruption – has been demoted
At a conclave in Beijing that ended on Wednesday, the Central Committee confirmed the punishment of four officials for their wrongdoings. But it was the case of Li Jia, former head of the Shanxi provincial political advisory body, that stood out.
The accusations against Li date back to before 2012, the year Xi took the party’s helm, though the exact timing and details remain unclear. Li’s most senior roles pre-2012 were on the party’s standing committee in Inner Mongolia – first as the region’s personnel chief from 2008, then as its security chief from 2011.
Li has been accused of “vote rigging in party elections” and violating party rules by inquiring about its efforts to fight corruption, according to an August statement from the party’s anti-graft body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
It also accused Li of “lacking party principles” and accepting valuable gifts from business owners, and he was placed under investigation for corruption.
However, the CCDI statement noted that the wrongdoing had happened prior to the party congress in 2012, so he was granted leniency. Li lost his party titles and was demoted from ministerial to vice-ministerial level in the government system – punishment that was endorsed by the Central Committee on Wednesday.
The four-day conclave – known as the seventh plenum – was attended by 358 full and alternate Central Committee members, their last meeting before the party’s national congress begins on Sunday.
The twice-a-decade congress is expected to see a major leadership reshuffle, with Xi set to secure a norm-breaking third term as the party’s leader.
Afterwards, a list of Politburo members will be endorsed by the new Central Committee. It will also endorse the new Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of power in China.
The use of ballots in the nomination process – described as “significant for in-party democracy” by previous president Hu Jintao – was abandoned five years ago because of “serious rigging”.
When the new Politburo was announced at the last party congress in 2017, Beijing said the previous use of ballots to nominate members encouraged interference in the election process, laying blame on three disgraced former leaders – Zhou Yongkang, Sun Zhengcai and Ling Jihua.
Three weeks ago, a party spokesperson said vote rigging during the process of electing delegates for the congress was forbidden. Cases of electoral fraud in Hunan, Sichuan and Liaoning – where Li was vice-governor in 2004 – were used to educate party members, the spokesperson told reporters.
“Now, we also won’t tolerate old cases [pre-2012] once they have been uncovered,” Xi said. “Our anti-corruption campaign will never end.”
In the Inner Mongolia region, some 736 corruption cases involving 1,023 party members – 69 of them senior officials – have been announced as part of the ongoing campaign, as of October. The corruption cases are said to involve a total of about 52 billion yuan (US$7.25 billion).
