CCTV.com 12-30-2014
2014 saw the fall from grace of some of the country’s biggest names in politics and the military. And the wide-reaching, anti-corruption campaign launched by President Xi Jinping last year continues to net both high-ranking “tigers” and low-ranking “flies”.
China’s new leadership, two years in, and there’s no letting up in the fight against corruption. Some 25,000 officials were investigated on suspicion of corruption in just the first half of 2014. And no one, no matter how high their ranking, appears safe.
Zhou Yongkang, once one of the most powerful men in the country, has been arrested on a raft of corruption charges, including the leaking of official secrets and bribery.
Xu Caihou was one of China’s top generals. He is one of the highest level military officer to be investigated since 1949. And it’s sending shock waves through the People’s Liberation Army.
This all-out anti-corruption campaign has struck fear into the hearts of China’s corrupt officials, with one noticable result, they are shunning all forms of extravagance. Luxury sales are down, from fashion garments to shoes and jewellery.
But China has had some trouble apprehending corrupt officials who have fled the country. So, at last month’s APEC meetings in Beijing, it proposed more cross-border cooperation in the pursuit of those outside its reach, and it managed to gain the support of key countries in its quest, including the United States.
“The APEC member economies have decided to set up a cross-border law enforcement network to strengthen trans-national anti-corruption cooperation in the region. We have reached consensus in hunting down fugitives at large, recovering their ill-gotten assets and expanding law enforcement cooperation,” Xi says.
So now anti-corruption is no longer simply a domestic problem — it has become a key part of China’s diplomatic efforts as well.
“When President Xi took over last year, he promised to stamp out corruption, from top bureaucrats to low-level clerks — in China they are nicknamed “tigers” and “flys”. From what we’ve seen so far, the leadership has more than shown its resolve to do just that.