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Ling Jihua was an aide to China's former president, Hu Jintao. Photo: Kyodo

A question of secrets: what did former rising Chinese political star Ling Jihua do wrong?

It should have been a full stop to the high-profile case but the release late on Monday of the results of an internal investigation into a former presidential aide only raised more questions about his alleged crimes, analysts said.

Ling Jihua, 58, retired president Hu Jintao's former chief of staff, was accused of six violations of law and Communist Party discipline, including taking bribes, adultery and illegally acquiring a large number of "core secrets" of the state and party, according to a Politburo statement put out by Xinhua.

The accusation that Ling illegally obtained the secrets surprised some observers, who said he was supposedly entitled to access to the information.

"If someone holding that office did not maintain regular access to state secrets, he or she would not be doing the job properly," said Steve Tsang, head of the University of Nottingham's School of Contemporary Chinese Studies. "The real allegation against Ling here is therefore that he had gained access to and kept 'the wrong kind of secrets'."

The real allegation against Ling here is therefore that he had gained access to and kept 'the wrong kind of secrets'
Steve Tsang, University of Nottingham

But Ma Changsheng, a former criminal law professor at Hunan Normal University, said Ling's party rank and position limited his access to confidential information. "Although he was Hu's top aide, technically he was only helping with party affairs and distributing information. His position didn't entitle him to access, for example, military secrets."

State-run China News Service said that unlike former security tsar Zhou Yongkang, Ling was not accused of leaking secrets. But his crimes were serious due to the "large amount" and "core" nature of the information.

Beijing-based political analyst Zhang Lifan said the Politburo's statement came before the annual summer gathering of the party's leadership in Beidaihe, Hebei province, and the timing suggested the party was trying to eradicate Ling's last vestiges of power.

There was also one more step the authorities could take.

"If people related to Ling leaked or passed the information allegedly given by him, the authorities can then accuse Ling of leaking secrets," Zhang said.

The Politburo said it decided to investigate Ling based on evidence from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security. In previous official corruption cases, the CCDI was the only investigator in the initial stages.

"It means that whistle-blowers reported Ling and his family and associates in various ways," Ma said, adding that the Ferrari crash that killed Ling's only son in March 2012 could have prompted the ministry's involvement.

A commentary published on the website of said the probe into Ling was an example of an anti-corruption investigation based on evidence and in line with the law.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Ex-presidential aide's case raises questions about what counts as a secret
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