Shanghai officials under scrutiny as Beijing anti-graft inspection team sweeps into city
Senior officials nervous as high-profile disciplinary team from Beijing sweeps into municipality to begin two-month zero-tolerance inspection
Shanghai officials are jittery after a high-profile disciplinary inspection team from Beijing moved into the city on Wednesday, with speculation mounting that the two-month visit could stir up a hornet's nest of political and graft scandals.
The Shanghai inspection is among the fourth round of nationwide sweeps launched by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) since May last year, with chief graft-buster Wang Qishan promising zero tolerance on corruption.
Analysts noted the Shanghai inspection was eye-catching, as the city was a power base of former president Jiang Zemin and a city President Xi Jinping led briefly in 2007.
Xi has reportedly asked inspection teams to be sent to places he headed - Shanghai and Zhejiang - to prove he is ready to tackle anyone who violates party rules, and that nothing would be off limits in his anti-graft drive, following his taking down of former security tsar Zhou Yongkang.
Zhang Wenyue, who leads the inspection in Shanghai, said the team would pay special attention to disciplinary and legal breaches including taking bribes, trading power for benefits, and abuse of power.
Two Shanghai government officials said nearly all senior cadres appeared to be fidgeting, as all signs pointed to some big shots being implicated during the inspection.
"The inspection is a stern test of the city-level officials and it is a guessing game now on who will be the victims this time," said a Pudong district government official who declined to be identified.
