‘No one is safe’: China purges record number of senior officials in 2023, with more ‘tigers’ likely to fall
- Post’s tally shows anti-corruption watchdog detained a record 45 high-ranking officials last year, the most since corruption crackdown was launched in 2013
- Investigators no longer follow previous unspoken rule that retired officials are off limits, expert says
China’s battle against corruption set new records last year, with the ruling Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog launching probes into 45 senior officials, according to a tally by the South China Morning Post.
Most of the subjects who were placed under investigation – sometimes referred to as “tigers” – belonged to a pool of officials known as “centrally managed cadres”, meaning they held ranks at the deputy ministerial level or above. A smaller number of them held slightly lower ranks but occupied key positions in important sectors.
Unlike their subordinates who are managed and supervised by the local branches of the party’s organisation and disciplinary agency, the group of senior officials are under direct management of the Communist Party’s Central Organisation Department, its top personnel body. If any wrongdoing is found, they would face top level investigations from the CCDI.
Twenty-seven of the 45 senior cadres who had faced detention by the disciplinary watchdog were found to have retired from their positions when they faced investigation, according to further research.
Deng Yuwen, a former deputy editor at the Study Times, official newspaper of the Central Party School where cadres are trained, said the fact that most of the CCDI’s investigations focused on retired officials signalled that the probes uncovered more misconduct before Xi took power, and that such retirements would not allow the individuals to avoid further investigation.
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