China tourists have taken the world by storm

Wedge · Dec 15, 2014

Lavish lifestyle of disgraced Guangzhou party chief Wan Qingliang to feature on anti-graft TV series

TV series will explore former Guangzhou boss Wan Qingliang’s extravagant lifestyle, as corruption campaign widens in Guangdong

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 14 December, 2014, 11:09pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 14 December, 2014, 11:09pm

Mimi Lau [email protected]

Disgraced Guangzhou party boss Wan Qingliang. Photo: Reuters

Television audiences will get a glimpse into the lavish lifestyle of disgraced Guangzhou party boss Wan Qingliang as early as tonight, when the state broadcaster airs a four-episode programme produced with the nation’s top anti-graft agency.

The production by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and CCTV – centred on President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign – will feature the luxurious clubs Wan allegedly frequented as well as businesses in high-end restaurants near the National Development and Reform Commission, the focus of much lobbying.

Analysts expect more heads to roll as a corruption crackdown widens in Guangdong, exposing bribery networks in its cities and government departments.

At least 78 department heads had been brought down this year – more than in any other province – and almost 10,000 officials were being investigated, the province’s anti-graft agency said.

“Guangdong ranks behind Sichuan and Shanxi in terms of the number of toppled big tigers, but it leads the way in cracking down on tiger-sized flies,” said Dr Peng Peng, of the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, referring to local government heads deemed significant at the provincial level but minor on the national scale.

“The campaign has dissolved local power clans,” he said.

Zhu Mingguo was removed as chairman of the province’s political advisory group this month, after authorities said he was being investigated for “serious violations of party discipline and law”. He is the most senior Guangdong cadre to be investigated so far this year.

The province is still reeling from the investigation into Wan, whose downfall in June also toppled Maoming party secretary Liang Yimin; former Guangzhou Land Resources and Housing Administrative Bureau chief Li Junfu; Huadu party boss Yang Yanwen; and retired provincial Organisation Department director Lin Cunde.

Lin’s wife Zhao Yufang is Guangdong’s deputy governor, whose portfolio includes overseeing Hong Kong affairs. A number of Guangzhou’s property development chiefs are being targeted for investigation in connection with Wan’s corruption case, according to a source close to the Guangzhou government.

Wan’s case is also believed to be connected to that of former Guangzhou deputy mayor Cao Jianliao, who was expelled earlier this year for taking at least 300 million yuan (HK$380 million) in bribes.

Wan told graft-busters that Lin paid him for a “career path adjustment”, the China Economic Weekly reported earlier this month. Lin’s case is the most worrying for Guangdong officials as he was responsible for 30 appointments out of 40 key positions in 20 Guangdong cities when a new round of officials were appointed in 2012.

The new officials appointed included Liang, who reportedly bribed Lin for a promotion from being Shunde party boss in Foshan to becoming Maoming party secretary after only seven months in the job.

Jiang Zunyu, party secretary of Shenzhen’s politics and law committee, also reportedly paid Lin for a promotion. Jiang was taken away in October.

“More heads are expected to roll as many officials were promoted under Lin,” Peng said.

Additional reporting by Andrea Chen

Jah_rastafar_I · Dec 15, 2014

Notice a big difference here and say were another race/country had a thread dedicated to them in this manner?

Suppose a nick was created like indiasux what would your instant reaction be? It's racist yet when you see the nick chinasux you think it's fine? Am i correct to say this?

chinasux it's not racist and bad news on china is fine, involve another race say indiasux and bad news on indians and it's racist wtf is this? Double standards?

Again and again i showcase this BS double standards and ppl try to misquote me time and time again.

Spetsnaz · Dec 15, 2014

Jah_rastafar_I said:
Notice a big difference here and say were another race/country had a thread dedicated to them in this manner?

Suppose a nick was created like indiasux what would your instant reaction be? It's racist yet when you see the nick chinasux you think it's fine? Am i correct to say this?

chinasux it's not racist and bad news on china is fine, involve another race say indiasux and bad news on indians and it's racist wtf is this? Double standards?

Again and again i showcase this BS double standards and ppl try to misquote me time and time again.

Nobody gives a shit u see.. u can go and create IndiaSucks, AmericaSucks for all i care but nothing changes. All i know is that i enjoy pissing off the PAP IB by bashing China and her allies. :biggrin:

Jah_rastafar_I · Dec 15, 2014

Spetsnaz said:
Nobody gives a shit u see.. u can go and create IndiaSucks, AmericaSucks for all i care but nothing changes. All i know is that i enjoy pissing off the PAP IB by bashing China and her allies.

PAP IB created and logged in a new nick just to reply to me?

The last i checked pap loves USA more than china so you're the pap ib.

ControlFreak · Dec 15, 2014

Jah_rastafar_I said:
PAP IB created and logged in a new nick just to reply to me?

The last i checked pap loves USA more than china so you're the pap ib.

All my clones are news feeders and i do not argue with idiots. My siggy is clear. :biggrin:

VPutin · Dec 15, 2014

Jah_rastafar_I said:
PAP IB created and logged in a new nick just to reply to me?

The last i checked pap loves USA more than china so you're the pap ib.

Why do u get agitated and defensive towards Chinks? :eek:

By the way your online persona to be a m&d / Indian Malay has been a failure. You are like everyone else in this forum, another anonymous clone. :biggrin:

MirrorMan · Dec 17, 2014

Chinese official admits to taking 13 million yuan of bribes to feed his passion for antique jade

Love of jade led to downfall of Anhui official who admits taking more than ¥13m in bribes; PLA blasts officers for sharing his passion

PUBLISHED : Monday, 15 December, 2014, 7:24pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 16 December, 2014, 4:35am

Mimi Lau in Guangzhou [email protected]

These antique jade exhibits are part of the bribes that former Anhui deputy governor Ni Fake allegedly received. Photo: SCMP

As a former deputy governor of Anhui province yesterday admitted taking more than 13 million yuan (HK$16.5 million) in bribes, mostly in jade, a military newspaper criticised some senior generals for sharing his passion in the precious stone.

Ni Fake was also found to have 5.8 million yuan in property he could not account for.

His guilty plea at a hearing in Dongying , Shandong province , was announced by the court's social media account. It did not mention a punishment.

The investigation into Ni was announced in June last year when he was serving as deputy governor and as Communist Party secretary in the city of Luan .

He was accused of taking bribes of cash, jade and Chinese paintings from nine businessmen in 49 deals. In return, Ni helped with planning approvals and granting land to property developers and mineral companies.

Media reports suggested that nearly 80 per cent of the bribes taken by Ni were in jade.

One of Ni's sources of Hotan jade, a highly prized form of the stone from the Xinjiang region, came from Ji Lichang, who owned the Anhui Dachang Minerals Group, prosecutors said.

One piece of jade given by Ji to the deputy governor was valued at 3.5 million yuan.

People's Daily said Ji helped build his wealth by learning ways to please officials like Ni.

Ji was said to have taken multiple flights to Xinjiang with jade experts to hunt for fine examples of the precious stone for the former deputy governor.

The businessman was said to have bribed Ni and his subordinates to obtain development rights for iron ore mines in Huoqiu county near Luan .

Since the investigation into Ni began last year several of his subordinates have come under scrutiny. They include Quan Junliang , the former deputy mayor of Luan; Zhou Yao , a former economic development chief in the city; and Chen Lianggang , an ex-head of Anhui's land resources department.

Yang Xianjing , a former inspector in the land resources department and Li Xuewen , the former bureau chief of Anhui's geology and mineral resources bureau, are also being investigated.

Prosecutors said the transactions involving Ji's mining firm in Huoqiu county alone inflicted losses of 1.89 billion yuan on the national treasury because he was offered development rights at cut prices.

Meanwhile, the PLA Daily criticised some leading military officers for their extravagant lifestyles and love of fine things, including jade. "Instead of studying warfare strategies, they indulge in antiques, paintings and jade … forgetting about the threats of war and losing the ability to fight in combat," the editorial said.

Jah_rastafar_I · Dec 17, 2014

VPutin said:
Why do u get agitated and defensive towards Chinks?

By the way your online persona to be a m&d / Indian Malay has been a failure. You are like everyone else in this forum, another anonymous clone.

serious? I act like a m&d or a shit skin? Care to show me where?

Revenge · Dec 17, 2014

US$1.25 trillion moved out of mainland China illegally in 10 years, says report

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 16 December, 2014, 8:44am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 16 December, 2014, 11:37am

Benjamin Robertson
[email protected]

The equivalent of US$249.5 billion was moved out of the mainland illicitly in 2012, the report says, up 53 per cent year on year. Photo: Reuters

The mainland lost US$1.25 trillion between 2003 and 2012 to illicit outflows including tax evasion, crime and corruption, the largest loss of money among 151 developing nations surveyed, according to a Washington-based advocacy group that tracks such activities.

This number was described as “highly conservative” as it did not include cash settlements, common among drug dealers and money launderers, Global Financial Integrity said in an annual report on illicit financial flows.

“After a brief slowdown during the financial crisis, illicit outflows are once again on the rise, hitting a new peak of US$991.2 billion in 2012”, 10 times the amount those countries received in official development aid, report authors Dev Kar and Joseph Spanjers wrote.

The growth in unlicensed outflows outstripped the rise in global gross domestic product and should give policymakers pause for thought. Illicit outflows represent a circumvention of national taxation policies, meaning a net loss to local treasuries, and a knock-on disruption to balance of payments and fiscal policies; especially in economies like the mainland’s, which have strict capital control measures in place to restrict money going offshore.

The mainland had the biggest outflow in 2012 of US$249.5 billion, up 53 per cent on 2011, the report said, citing data from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The second-largest cumulative outflow was in Russia, which lost an estimated US$973.8 billion between 2003 and 2012. Mexico and India were third and fourth, losing US$514.2 billion and US$439.5 billion respectively.

As a continent, Asia accounted for 40.3 per cent of unauthorised financial flows from the developing world during the period.

That the mainland should lead the league table is not surprising given its population and economic size. Mainland capital controls also mean that some companies have to resort to illegitimate ways to move money offshore as a cost of doing business.

“Not all illegal money movement is money laundering,” said risk consultant Julian Russell.

Capital control rules “encourage an underground economy for people providing a facilitation service to move money”, Russell said.

Most illicit outflows were due to trade mis-invoicing, described by the report as “an acute problem for administrations in developing countries”, whereby traders under-invoice exports and over-invoice imports as a way to move money offshore.

Such practices have long been common on the mainland, and discrepancies between mainland and Hong Kong trade data have often been cited by analysts as evidence of widespread tax evasion and money laundering.

In some cases however, money is round-tripped back into the economy as foreign investment.

To curtail furtive financial flows, the report recommended governments create registers of corporate beneficial owners, tighten anti-money-laundering rules, and force multinationals to disclose profit and loss, sales, and taxes paid, broken down by national market.

Pfizer · Dec 18, 2014

Chinese official borrowed 400 million yuan from banks and creditors to buy 248 properties

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 17 December, 2014, 12:33pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 17 December, 2014, 12:33pm

Wu Nan [email protected]

Xingan county deputy head Liu Jianjun is said to be linked to Su Rong (pictured), former Jiangxi provincial governor and CPPCC vice-chairman. Photo: EPA

A former Jiangxi official jailed for life on multiple fraud charges earlier this year took huge loans from banks and creditors to buy a whopping 248 properties, mainland media reported.

Liu Jianjun, former deputy head of Xingan county near Jian city, put the money not only in real estate, but also invested heavily in financial and trading businesses, 21 Century Business Herald reported on Wednesday.

According to the testimonies of more than 20 usury creditors, Liu borrowed a total of 400 million yuan (HK$506 million) from them between 2009 and 2011 to buy an office building in Nanchang. At the time of his prosecution in May this year, he had yet to repay 190 million yuan of the debt, the creditors said.

Investigations showed that Liu and his operators owned 248 properties – all except four were mortgaged to banks and creditors. Judicial departments seized the properties after he was charged.

Liu is said to be linked to Su Rong, former Jiangxi provincial governor and vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who has been detained under investigation on suspicion of violating party rules and state laws. The pair is part of a list of Jiangxi officials to be investigated or punished in this past year.

Liu, who was appointed Xingan county deputy head in July 2011, is also said to have close ties with Lei Ting, former director of the Nanchang hi-tech zone management committee.

Liu was taken for official investigation last September, and on May 22, the Nanchang Intermediate People’s Court found him guilty of multiple fraud including financial credentials and loan fraud.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment, stripped of his political rights and had all his personal properties confiscated. He did not appeal the conviction.

Pfizer · Dec 18, 2014

China Resources’ vice-president Jiang Wei latest executive to be implicated in corruption probe

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 17 December, 2014, 12:53pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 18 December, 2014, 1:34am

Keira Lu Huang [email protected]

Jiang Wei, China Resources’ vice-president, is the latest executive at the state-owned conglomerate to be implicated in corruption. Photo: SCMP

A vice-president of state-owned conglomerate China Resources (Holdings) has been in detention for at least a month as part of a graft investigation, a source and mainland media reports said yesterday.

A source close to the company told the South China Morning Post that the investigation into Jiang Wei was linked to China Resources' controversial acquisition of a Shanxi coal mining firm four years ago.

China Resources' board office in Hong Kong confirmed yesterday that Jiang had been detained by the authorities.

"Mr Jiang has been taken away by prosecutors to assist in an investigation," a staff member said, refusing to provide further details.

Jiang is the latest in a string of senior executives of the company and its subsidiaries to be detained in corruption inquiries since former chairman Song Lin was taken away earlier this year.

China Resources (Holdings) is the parent company of five Hong Kong-listed firms. From 2001 to 2012, Jiang was the chief financial officer of the parent company.

He also later became the chairman of China Resources Capital, the group's financial service platform, putting him at the helm of China Resources Capital's five offshoots, including China Resources Bank of Zhuhai, China Resources Investment Enterprise and China Resources SZITIC Trust.

Jiang was in hot water over his decision in 2010 to have China Resources SZITIC Trust lend about 2 billion yuan (HK$2.5 billion) to Jinye Coal and Coking Group in Shanxi, a problematic acquisition that China Resources Power (CRP), a subsidiary of the parent group, made that year, the source and the reports said.

CRP bought troubled Jinye for 7.9 billion yuan in May 2010.

It was accused of dramatically overpaying for the coal group, and controversy over the deal later triggered a series of investigations by the authorities into a number of China Resources executives. To help pull Jinye out of its financial straits, CRP enlisted China Resources SZITIC Trust to lend about 2 billion yuan to Jinye for a little under two years. But Jinye failed to pay back the money by the 2012 deadline.

The Shanghai Securities News and the source claimed that Jiang juggled the trust company's finances to make it appear - at least on paper - that the debt had been repaid.

State auditors looked into CR Capital's books last year and reported in June this year that they had uncovered a web of problems with its accounts. But it is not clear if any of those issues are related to the Jinye loan.

Jinye's boss, Zhang Xinming, once the richest man in Shanxi, was taken into custody in August, the same month that CRP executive director Wang Yujun was detained by prosecutors in Jiangsu province.

On Saturday, the director of the Shanxi Coal Industry Bureau, Wu Yongping, was detained by the province's anti-graft agency for investigation.

Several sources in Shanxi said that Wu helped pave the way for the Jinye acquisition.

Pfizer · Dec 18, 2014

Hong Kong graft investigators swoop on unit of Chinese finance giant Guotai Junan

Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of mainland investment giant is at centre of investigation as its executive director is taken away by the ICAC

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 17 December, 2014, 11:41pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 18 December, 2014, 12:56am

Samuel Chan and Sophie Yu

Michael Sze Cho-cheung says it has been difficult for the ICAC. Photo: Edward Wong

Graft-busters raided the Hong Kong unit of one of the nation's largest investment houses and took away its executive director, the company revealed yesterday as trading in its shares resumed after a two-day suspension.

Independent Commission Against Corruption investigators swooped on the Central offices of Guotai Junan International, the local subsidiary of Guotai Junan Securities, on Monday. They seized "certain securities trading account-opening records and an agreement relating to a placing case", the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

Sources said the investigation was related to a recent share placement. Company chairman Yim Fung could not be reached for comment last night.

Officers also executed a search warrant at the home of Wong Tung-ching, the company's chairman and executive director, the statement added.

"Wong was invited to visit the ICAC to assist in an investigation," the company said. No other director or employee was "taken away", it added.

Trading in the company's shares resumed yesterday after a two-day suspension pending the release of "price-sensitive information". Shares fell 7.6 per cent to close at HK$5.69.

Shanghai-based Guotai Junan Securities is one of the mainland's largest brokerages and asset managers.

The high-profile case broke on the day the ICAC reported that the number of corruption complaints had fallen for the third consecutive year. But officers denied the 11 per cent fall was due to a loss of public confidence in the watchdog after claims former commissioner Timothy Tong Hin-ming breached rules with his lavish hospitality spending.

"The year has been difficult for the ICAC, as we all know. The internal governance of the ICAC was questioned," said Michael Sze Cho-cheung, chairman of the ICAC's operations review committee. But he said the institution, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in February, would rebuild its battered reputation.

"The ICAC has been very successful in tackling its problems. I am confident that the public will soon have the same level of trust … as before," said Sze, who will retire this month.

And Sze said the public need not worry that the ICAC's highest-profile investigation, into allegations former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen accepted favours from tycoon friends, would simply "vanish". The 21/2-year-old investigation could not be wound up without the approval of his committee, which examines all investigations the ICAC is proposing to drop.

Holding its annual year-end media conference yesterday, the agency revealed that complaints received from January to last month were down 11 per cent to 2,190 cases, from 2,452 in the same period last year.

But Sze said there were no signs of worsening cross-border corruption. Complaints regarding cross-border affairs edged up to 32 from 28 for the first 11 months of the year.

Additional reporting by Ray Chan

chuckyworld · Dec 18, 2014

Jah_rastafar_I said:
Notice a big difference here and say were another race/country had a thread dedicated to them in this manner?

Suppose a nick was created like indiasux what would your instant reaction be? It's racist yet when you see the nick chinasux you think it's fine? Am i correct to say this?

chinasux it's not racist and bad news on china is fine, involve another race say indiasux and bad news on indians and it's racist wtf is this? Double standards?

Again and again i showcase this BS double standards and ppl try to misquote me time and time again.

Jah, China tourist really have to polish up on their behavior, at least they are not at the top, American and pompee have that honor.

The poll, carried out by LivingSocial, questioned 5,600 people in five countries - and Americans ranked themselves as the worst travellers with 20%, according to the Daily Mail.

Canadians and Australians also weren't 'fanny pack-wearing' fans, and voted Americans the world's worst tourists, too.

However, not everyone was in agreement; Brits voted Germans their least favourite tourists, while the Irish voted Brits as the worst travellers.

The most common travel disasters reported by Americans was lost luggage on an airline (21%); bad weather (21%); and getting very lost (16%), according to USA Today.

The survey also also revealed that Americans were a little light-fingered with hotel property, with four out of ten admitting they had 'accidentally' packed or intentionally stolen items like towels.

Meanwhile, Brits actually voted themselves the world's worst tourists in a poll carried out by skyscanner.net last year.

We voted ourselves the worst at "not attempting to learn any local language", "being drunk and disorderly" and "not trying the local food and drink".

On my recent trip to China, the teens behave very badly jumping queue, too bad they jump in front of me, I did give them a piece of mind, simply said China want respect from all over the world and you guys are showing the opposite did your parent and country did not teach you how to behave.

The security guards haul the whole lot of 10 plus right to the back, they do feel ashamed when every one local and lau wai was giving them the dirty look.... :smile:

LEGEND · Dec 18, 2014

Lai lah! Support!

ControlFreak · Dec 20, 2014

China Telecom executive investigated for corruption

Zong Xinhua second official at firm to be accused of alleged graft this week

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 18 December, 2014, 12:24pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 18 December, 2014, 12:24pm

Angela Meng
[email protected]

A China Unicom store in Hong Kong. Anti-corruption investigators on the mainland have been focusing on state-owned enterprises. Photo: Bloomberg

A senior official at the telecommunications giant China Unicom is under investigation for alleged corruption.

A statement on the company’s website said that Zong Xinhua had been sacked and was to be questioned over alleged serious violations of discipline, a form of words often used by the authorities in China to describe graft.

Zong was the general manager of the company’s information technology and e-commerce business unit.

He was in charge of increasing the firm’s business generated online.

The statement did not give details of the allegations made against Zong.

The Communist Party’s anti-graft agency the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection launched its latest round of inspections targeting mainly state-owned enterprises last month, including China Unicom.

Another executive from the firm, Zhang Zhijiang, the general manager of the company’s network construction department, is also under investigation for alleged corruption.

The company confirmed on Monday that Zhang had been sacked, but gave no further details of the case.

President Xi Jinping has launched a massive anti-corruption campaign since taking power two years ago, with many high-ranking officials held for questioning for alleged graft.

They include China’s former national security chief Zhou Yongkang.

Yazoo · Dec 20, 2014

Inside the lavish club visited by shamed top Chinese official

Disgraced former Guangzhou party secretary Wan Qingliang is focus of film

PUBLISHED : Friday, 19 December, 2014, 11:58am
UPDATED : Friday, 19 December, 2014, 3:04pm

Wu Nan [email protected]

Wan Qingliang, the disgraced former Communist Party secretary of Guangzhou, was once considered a rising star in the party. Photo: Reuters

A documentary produced by the Chinese Communist Party’s top anti-corruption watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) has offered a glimpse of the luxurious lifestyle of disgraced former Guangzhou party secretary Wan Qingliang.

The last of four documentary programmes aired last night – focusing on President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign – featured the lavish clubs Wan visited before his fall after graft allegations involving “serious violations of discipline” were confirmed.

The club in Guangzhou’s Baiyun district, has one luxuriously decorated room with a terrace large enough to accommodate 18 guests, Beijing Youth Daily reports.

The lounge at a lavish club visited by disgraced former party secretary Wan Qingliang, which was featured in last night's Chinese TV documentary. Photo: Yangcheng Evening News

The CCDI and China Central Television jointly produced the documentary as part of the party’s efforts to promote it “eight rules on official behaviour”.

Since May the party has banned its members from visiting private clubs or becoming members of exclusive restaurants, fitness centres and entertainment venues, Xinhua, the state-run news agency, reported.

A dining room at a lavish club frequented by disgraced former party secretary Wan Qingliang, which was featured in last night's Chinese TV documentary. Photo: Yangcheng Evening News

Xinhua said many luxury clubs are set up in public parks or even cultural heritage sites. The Imperial Court Club, for example, is located inside a 270-year-old building at Beihai Park, one of the capital’s best-preserved Imperial gardens.

Wan was removed from his post in the end of June, and officially banished from the party, Xinhua said.

He formerly held a vice-ministerial rank and was the top official in Guangzhou, the capital of the southern province of Guangdong, which neighbours Hong Kong.

Wan was once considered a rising star in the party because he held such a senior political position while still in his early 50s. He was part of the Guangdong Communist Youth League, the power base of former president Hu Jintao.

However, Wan came under fire soon after he took up the Guangzhou post in 2011, when he suggested that housing prices were too low. He told mainland media at the time that his monthly rent for a luxury flat was only 600 yuan (HK$750), despite the market price being five times that.

Wan joined a list of officials in Guangdong, including Cao Jianliao, former vice-mayor of Guangzhou, who have been caught up in the anti-graft campaign launched since Xi took office in 2012.

Area51 · Dec 24, 2014

Ling Jihua 'to face same fate as Bo Xilai'

Downfall of four 'big tigers' likely to intensify a power struggle in Communist Party, analysts say

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 24 December, 2014, 4:04am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 24 December, 2014, 4:04am

Mandy Zuo [email protected]

Ling Jihua is the latest "big tiger" to be targeted by President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. Photo: Reuters

Ling Jihua, the one-time top aide of former president Hu Jintao, is likely to face the same fate as disgraced Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, mainland analysts say.

Ling, 58, is the latest "big tiger" to be targeted by President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, though it is unclear if more senior figures are to be pursued.

Following the downfall of Bo, investigations were launched into the former security tsar Zhou Yongkang , and the former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, Xu Caihou.

In a brief statement on Monday, the party's anti-graft agency said only that Ling was being investigated for "suspected serious disciplinary violations".

Zhang Ming, a political scientist at Renmin University, said it was unlikely that Ling would face only a party disciplinary hearing.

Rather, he could expect a trial similar to Bo, who was expelled from the party in 2012 and sentenced to life in prison last year for bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

"Judging from previous examples such as Bo, it's highly unlikely that Ling, Xu and Zhou will receive only punishment within the party. Otherwise all the fanfare would have been unnecessary," he said.

Other analysts said the downfall of the four was the result of not only the anti-graft drive, but a political struggle within the party.

Beijing-based political commentator Zhang Lifan said it was a tradition for the party to remove political foes by charging them with economic crimes.

"Now that corruption is rampant within the party, using the name of anti-corruption is better than using purely political measures to defeat an enemy."

There is mounting speculation that the four "tigers" were closely linked.

An article published on the WeChat account of People's Daily quoted statements by Xi saying that "forming factions" within the party should not be allowed. Zhang, though, said more turbulence was likely as political factions were a way of life.

In a surprising move last week, Ling wrote an article for the party magazine Qiushi, in which he quoted Xi at least 16 times. This was seen both as a gesture of loyalty and a show that he still had supporters.

"It's a signal that the political struggle is not over yet," said professor Peng Peng, from the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences.

"It's hard to say who's next, but it's quite unlikely to be someone with a state-level position. There should be a bottom line, otherwise there will be too much negative influence."

Any careless move could "spit out sparks, and the leadership should be aware of this", he said.

Spetsnaz · Dec 24, 2014

How son’s death in a high-speed car crash led to powerful Chinese official’s fall from grace

Ling Jihua was tipped to become one of the next generation of leaders in China until allegations surfaced of a cover-up into a fatal road accident in a Ferrari

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 23 December, 2014, 11:15am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 23 December, 2014, 11:58am

Staff Reporters

Ling pictured sitting behind former premier Wen Jiabao and ex-president Hu Jintao at the National People's Congress in 2012. Ling was an aide to the former head of state. Photo: AP

Ling Jihua was one of the Communist Party’s rising stars, the personal aide to former president Hu Jintao groomed to be one of the sixth generation of leaders to succeed Xi Jinping’s administration in a decade, until his world came crashing down, literally, on March 19, 2012.

That night a 5 million yuan (HK$6.3 million) speeding Ferrari sports car struck a wall on Beijing’s North Fourth Ring Road before crushing a barrier on the other side of the road. Two young women, one naked and the other semi-naked, were seriously injured. The driver, a young man, half naked, died instantly. He was Ling Gu, the son of Ling Jihua.

The accident set in motion events that would lead to Ling Jihua’s fall from grace.

Before November, 2011, Ling was chief of the secretive General Office of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and Hu’s personal secretary. It made him one of the country’s most powerful officials, although probably the least well known.

The wreckage of a Ferrari which exploded into flames after a crash in Beijing that allegedly killed Ling Gu.

Ling oversaw many of the affairs of Beijing’s highest leaders, from mundane concerns such as their doctor’s appointments to overseeing their paperwork and personal security.

His troubles began when it is alleged he requested that the investigation into his son’s accident be handled by the Central Guard Bureau, the office he oversaw responsible for the security of top party leaders rather than by the police. The request smacked of a cover-up.

Ling also enlisted the help of the former oil company chief Jiang Jiemin.

Jiang, then chairman of the state-run China National Petroleum Corporation, paid hefty compensation to the families of both women involved in the accident to prevent details of the car crash being made public.

The families were each paid tens of millions of yuan, sources said, that was transferred to their bank accounts from China National Petroleum.

But the two large transfers eventually led to an anti-corruption investigation focused on Jiang.

The fallout from the crash put paid to Ling’s hopes of promotion ahead of the 18th Party Congress that autumn as Xi Jinping took power.

Ling had been viewed as a likely future member of the Politburo, even as a contender for the elite Standing Committee, the Communist Party’s top decision-making body. The promise of those appointments evaporated.

Instead, he was moved sideways, elected as minister of the United Work Front, a largely symbolic post, and as vice chairman of the political advisory body the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

He is thought be the only former director of the party’s General Office not to be elected to the Politburo member, or made an alternative member who takes their posts in the second half of the leadership’s term of office.

However, political analysts said at the time that Ling appeared to have emerged from the inquiries and controversy without harsh punishment.

He moved in December 2012 from his office in the Zhongnanhai leader’s compound to his new office across Fuyou Street in Beijing’s Xicheng district to take up his appointment as minister.

“He doesn’t take part in much decision making at the United Front Work Department,” a source said.

There have been 56 official reports about Ling’s work over the past two years, according to the department’s website.

The vast majority were single mentions about him attending meetings. Some months passed without him appearing at public meetings at all.

His main role was to maintain good relations between the party and non-communist organisations, including ethnic minority groups and organisations in Taiwan.

It was a far cry from his role as chief of the party’s powerful General Office.

“The General Office is the pivot of the central leadership. Anything that people want to have seen by leaders has to pass that office first and any policy to be conveyed has to pass them, too,” a source close to the office said. “And Ling was a meddlesome man.”

On one occasion, the source said, when Beijing officials had trouble relocating residents near Zhongnanhai to build apartments for cadres, Ling took control and held a meeting to issue directions.

“He didn’t have to do that. He was that powerful,” said the source. “But because of him, the relocations went smoothly.”

Ling was a workaholic while chief of the General Office.

“Ling never rests,” one of his subordinates said at the time.

His favourite way to release stress was to play table tennis. An observer gaining access to the General Office in Beijing during Ling’s term in office might have found him playing a late-night match after a long day’s work.

Ling’s subordinates at first found his nightly ping-pong sessions endearing, something that lent a human touch to his demanding manner at work. That is until they saw him returning to his desk after the game ended.

“He always worked until midnight and played table tennis for about half an hour. In the beginning, we thought ‘that’s the end of a long day’, but then he went back to the office and worked for another few hours,” a subordinate said.

MirrorMan · Dec 25, 2014

China's state media only carries bare bones reports on Ling Jihua corruption probe

Probe features prominently in mainland media, but most have kept to a short official statement

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 23 December, 2014, 1:20pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 24 December, 2014, 5:05am

He Huifeng [email protected]

Mainland China's state-run newspapers widely carried short reports on the corruption inquiry into former presidential aide Ling Jihua. Photo montage: Evangeline Lam

State-run media on the mainland have given prominent coverage to a short report about the corruption investigation into former presidential aide Ling Jihua, but have largely run only the brief statement from Xinhua.

More commercial newspapers such as The Beijing News and the Oriental Morning Post in Shanghai ran the story underneath their front page headline, but then, like other state media outlets, referred only to the one-sentence report issued by Xinhua on Monday evening.

The report said Ling was under investigation for corruption, but gave no further details. The Oriental Morning Post also referred to a graft investigation into other government officials with links to Shanxi, Ling’s home province.

Jin Daoming, a former deputy party chief in the province, and Shen Weichen, an ex-senior official in the provincial capital Taiyuan, are also the focus of corruption investigations.

Several sources have previously told the South China Morning Post that investigators are looking into the affairs of officials dubbed the “Shanxi gang”.

The People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, ran the brief Xinhua report into the investigation into Ling on the bottom of page four.

The Chinese edition of the Global Times, a tabloid linked to the People’s Daily, said in its editorial that Ling’s fall from grace would reassure the public that the anti-corruption campaign would continue and no official was beyond punishment, however senior.

It also said there had been “rumours” among the public that Ling was in trouble.

The South China Morning Post has reported previously on Ling’s demotion as top aide to ex-president Hu Jintao after allegations that he tried to cover up details of the death of his son in car crash in 2012.

Ling Gu’s semi-naked body was recovered after his Ferrari crashed late one night in March in Beijing. Two women with him, one naked and one partially clothed, were seriously injured.

JohnTan · Dec 25, 2014

Eleven Jinping's "anti-corruption" drive will not work because it is simply a case of the corrupt prosecuting the corrupt. The Chink CCP will not allow an independent judiciary to be set up, nor will they allow an independent anti-corruption unit to develop. It is like Hydra. For every corruption CCP official put in jail, two more will grow in its place.

Chinks will be chinks. The first thought on their mind is how to consolidate power unto themselves like an emperor, amass lots of wealth and women and abuse their power. No evolution at all despite the so-called claims of 5000 years of "civilization".

China tourists have taken the world by storm

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