There is speculation that ousted Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai might face the death penalty, after a People's Daily commentary mentioned the famous executions of two corrupt officials in 1952.
However, some mainland analysts said drawing such a conclusion from Sunday's piece may be a bit of a stretch.
The party mouthpiece ran the piece in the bottom-right corner of its front page, under a headline saying that those in high positions should always be alert and remind themselves to follow party rule. It was written under the name Ma Yong.
'From the resolute handling of the corruption cases of Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan at the founding of new China, to a series of determined investigations of cases that violated the law or party discipline since the 16th Party Congress ... we have been determined ... to build a clean party, to consistently resolve the internal problems of the party and to win the trust and support of the people,' the article read.
Liu and Zhang, both recognised veterans who fought in the Sino-Japanese and civil wars, were sentenced to death in 1952 for corruption that took place during their short tenures as consecutive party secretaries of Tianjin.
A commonly cited anecdote in mainland media is that even though other officials tried to lobby on their behalf, Mao Zedong said that they must be sentenced to death because they were in high positions, had made significant contributions and held wide influence.