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President Xi Jinping has touted rule by law. Photo: Reuters

Handling of case will 'test pledge' to rule by law

The party's fourth plenum commitments will soon be put under the spotlight, analysts say

How the Communist Party leadership and judiciary treat the case of former security tsar Zhou Yongkang will be the first true test of President Xi Jinping's ambition to promote government accountability and rule by law, analysts say.

The party promoted the principle of rule by law for the first time in its history at the fourth plenum in October.

Zhiqun Zhu, director of Bucknell University's China Institute, said Zhou's case would be a litmus test because it would be subject to the judiciary, not simply internal party disciplinary procedures.

"How transparent the investigation and ensuing trial are will reveal a lot about whether the party is serious about implementing rule by law," Zhu said.

Xigen Li, an associate professor at City University's department of media and communication, said that through his handling of Zhou's case Xi had delivered a powerful message to both serving and retired senior officials that their positions and connections would not protect them from the consequences of their wrongdoing.

But it remained to be seen whether the decision on Zhou was a turning point in government accountability or was intended merely as a warning to corrupt cadres. "The case is sending a powerful message that Xi is serious about rooting out graft among the elite 'tigers' as well as lowly 'flies'," Li said.

Analysts also noted that before the formal investigation was announced, the party had dismantled Zhou's power base, which spanned the oil industry, the Sichuan provincial party, the Ministry of Public Security and the legal affairs establishment.

Zhou was one of the most powerful men in China. His career included a stint as head of China National Petroleum Corporation, the party boss of Sichuan and the minister of public security before his promotion to the Politburo Standing Committee - the party's top decision-making body - where he was put in charge of the nation's police, courts and prosecutors.

The party's national internal anti-graft body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, have detained a dozen senior ministerial-level officials with close ties to Zhou. Among them were former Sichuan vice-governor Guo Yongxiang , the former chief regulator of state-owned enterprises Jiang Jiemin , the former deputy public security minister Li Dongsheng and the former head of an advisory body in Sichuan, Li Chongxi .

More than 10 of Zhou's relatives have also been detained, among them Zhou's one-time television reporter wife Jia Xiaoye, his eldest son from a previous marriage, Zhou Bin, Zhou Bin's in-laws and Zhou's brother.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Handling of case will 'test pledge' to rule by law
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