New | Chinese officials warned to clean up their act and rein in corrupt family members
A state media commentary on Friday called on party cadres to clean up their act and put their house in order as it alleged that family members of disgraced senior official Ling Jihua had become corrupted.
The commentary, released through party mouthpiece People’s Daily’s mobile application, said one of the messages of the investigation against Ling, one-time top aide of former president Hu Jintao, was for the political elite to “restore family ethics”.
The political elite should properly manage their family members, stopping them from abusing power to accumulate wealth and for other personal motives
The anti-graft watchdog targeted Ling not only because he had formed factions within the party but also because of his family members’ corrupt practices, the commentary said.
It said that Ling’s siblings – former Shanxi official Ling Zhengce and businessman Ling Wancheng – were also being investigated for graft, reflecting the seriousness of the corruption within his family.
“The political elite should properly manage their family members, stopping them from abusing power to accumulate wealth and for other personal motives,” the commentary said. “This is the biggest message of Ling’s case to all officials and the ruling party.”
The anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, announced on Monday that Ling was being investigated for discipline violations – a euphemism for corruption.
Authorities have taken down officials from Shanxi, where Ling Zhengce once served as vice-chairman of the province’s political advisory body, in the run-up to the investigation against Ling Jihua.
The commentary wrapped up the reasons why the top party leadership decided to target “four tigers” in its anti-graft campaign, which include former security tsar Zhou Yongkang, former Central Military Commission vice-chairman Xu Caihou, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference vice-chairman Su Rong, and Ling.
It said the top leadership would not soften its hand in cracking down on corruption, and that Zhou was a “time bomb” for the party.
