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China amasses record half-year ‘tiger’ tally in anti-corruption campaign
- High-profile casualties show that past glories are no protection in the long-running crackdown, analyst says
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Three dozen “tigers” were detained by China’s anti-corruption watchdog in the first half of the year, setting a new six-month benchmark for President Xi Jinping’s signature anti-corruption campaign.
The detention of the 36 senior officials of at least vice-ministerial rank compares to the 22 investigated in the same time last year, a total that was a half-year high at the time, according to a South China Morning Post tally.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) – China’s top anti-corruption agency – announced 45 investigations into senior officials last year but two more have since been added to that total with the announcement in June that former defence ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe came under investigation in 2023.
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All of the tigers – as the CCDI refers to them – 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 held slightly lower ranks but occupied key positions in critical sectors.
Eight of the 36 detained in the first half held positions in central Communist Party and state agencies, while 20 of them were from local governments or party bodies, suggesting the investigators cast a wide net.
The biggest cases involved former agriculture minister Tang Renjian; former justice minister Tang Yijun; Gou Zhongwen, China’s former sports chief credited with the country’s Olympic medals success; former deputy propaganda chief Zhang Jiancun; and Zhong Ziran, former director of the China Geological Survey.
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