China says nearly 180,000 cadres caught in blitz as Communist Party tightens grip

Name: SCMP Explains: How does the Chinese Communist Party operate?
Uploaded: 2021-08-31T22:00:24.000Z
Duration: 6 min 45 s
Description: SCMP Explains: How does the Chinese Communist Party operate?

Almost 2,000 working in courts, prosecutors’ offices, prisons, police and national security have been charged over violations

The rest have been disciplined or reprimanded in what is seen as an effort to strengthen loyalty ahead of next year’s leadership reshuffle

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Police officers are among those in the cross hairs of an ongoing “rectification” campaign. Photo: AP

Jack Lau

Published: 6:00am, 1 Sep 2021

Nearly 180,000 cadres working in China’s judicial and law enforcement authorities have been reprimanded or punished for “violating party discipline and the law” during an ongoing blitz.

Of those, some 1,985 people working in the courts, prosecutors’ offices, prisons, police and in national security had been charged as of the end of July, the leading group in charge of the campaign said on Monday.

Another 3,466 were disciplined within the ruling Communist Party, and most of the others were reprimanded for their actions.

They were targeted in a continuing “rectification” campaign that began in February, after a trial in late 2020, and will run until at least the end of the year.

Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said it was an effort to consolidate the president’s grip on power ahead of next year’s party congress, at which he is expected to secure a third term.

“Xi Jinping believes the political-legal system is the most important because it is a disciplinary force,” Wu said. “[Moves like this suggest] he is not very confident despite outsiders saying he will a hundred per cent get a third term.”

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SCMP Explains: How does the Chinese Communist Party operate?