No let-up for corrupt ‘tigers’ in 2018 as China’s graft-busters claim more big scalps
- More high-ranking officials were detained and charged last year than in 2017
- But after the Communist Party declared a ‘crushing victory’ in the anti-corruption drive it is unclear if there will be any change in priorities
Six years into President Xi Jinping’s war on corruption, the Communist Party’s graft-busters detained another 23 “tigers” – or high-ranking officials – in 2018, five more than the previous year.
Prosecutors also charged 32 provincial- and ministerial-level officials last year, which was 14 more than in 2017.
But while there seems to have been no let-up in the campaign, the year’s tally does not indicate the party watchdog and prosecutors went after more senior scalps in 2018 – many of the cases prosecuted were the result of lengthy investigations carried out over previous years.
More than 1.3 million party officials at various levels – from the powerful “tigers” to low-ranking “flies” – have been caught in the campaign since it was launched in late 2012. The anti-graft drive hit its peak in 2016.