Guangdong officials may have a hard time escaping the heat this summer, as provincial party boss Wang Yang appears poised to escalate his campaign against corrupt cadres - especially as it promises to further increase his political capital ahead of the 18th Communist Party congress.
The party secretary told government officials last week Guangdong's graft-busters would offer no quarter to bureaucrats and party leaders cheating the system for personal gain. 'We must fight corruption with extreme determination, courage and persistence in order to maintain the advancement and purity of the Chinese Communist Party,' he said, according to mainland media.
'We will not offer any appeasement to corrupt parties.'
Coming as the 18th national party congress looms, Wang's campaign has drawn both praise for its breadth and criticism for its resemblance to the politically tinged crackdowns carried out by Bo Xilai before his removal in March as Chongqing party boss.
More than 1,000 party officials and civil servants have been arrested since February alone, when Wang, widely seen as a top contender for one of nine seats on the Politburo's all-powerful Standing Committee, expanded and rebranded the campaign as 'three busts and two builds'.
The 'busts' refer to efforts to crack down on counterfeit goods, commercial bribery and market manipulation that uses triad-style intimidation tactics. The 'builds' describe plans to establish a credit-rating system for consumers and improve market oversight.