https://www.scmp.com/rss/269123/feed The Communist Party's top anti-graft body announced an investigation into Ling Jihua, head of the party's United Front Work Department and a deputy chairman of the CPPCC, on December 22, 2014. Ling had worked for years as the personal secretary of former President Hu Jintao and chief of the Party's General Office. Ling's expected rise to the Polituro was thwarted in 2012 after his son Ling Gu died in a scandalous car crash in Beijing. He became one of the highest-ranking party officials to fall... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com It looks like being a particularly grim Lunar New Year in the “tigers’ cage” this week. The notorious Qincheng maximum security prison houses many disgraced senior Communist Party officials – including fallen security chief Zhou Yongkang, former Chongqing boss Bo Xilai, ex-presidential aide Ling Jihua and Guo Boxiong, who was once a top general.  Normally, some of those prisoners who are aged over 60 can look forward to a Lunar New Year meal with a few family members, but a source close to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2133251/xi-jinpings-anti-graft-drive-has-caught-so-many?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2133251/xi-jinpings-anti-graft-drive-has-caught-so-many?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2018 07:00:00 +0000 The one-time head of a leading tech firm linked to jailed former presidential aide Ling Jihua was found guilty of insider trading on Friday. The Dalian Intermediate People’s Court in Liaoning province sentenced Li You, former chief executive of Beijing-based technology conglomerate Founder Group, to 4½ years in jail for insider trading and for obstructing investigators, ­according to a statement on the court’s website. Li was also fined 750 million yuan (HK$843 million), a very high penalty to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2049212/businessman-linked-disgraced-chinese-presidential-aide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2049212/businessman-linked-disgraced-chinese-presidential-aide?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Nov 2016 06:30:15 +0000 The elder brother of a disgraced one-time aide to a former Chinese president will be formally prosecuted for graft, Chinese authorities announced on Sunday. Ling Zhengce, 64, former vice-chairman of the Shanxi People’s Political Consultative Conference, had been handed over to prosecutors in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, state-run Xinhua reported. Ling allegedly abused his position in the consultative body and as head of Shanxi’s top planning body to procure benefits for other people. Missing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2020416/brother-disgraced-former-chinese-presidential-aide-face?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2020416/brother-disgraced-former-chinese-presidential-aide-face?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Sep 2016 09:56:25 +0000 The chief of staff to Chinese President Xi Jinping has revealed startling details of a power struggle within the Communist Party’s secretariat related to the investigation of a former leadership aide. The comments shed some light on a recent purge within the General Office of the Central Committee – the nerve centre of the party – following the downfall of the aide, Ling Jihua. Ling, who served former president Hu Jintao, was jailed for life last month for bribery, among other crimes. During the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2003042/chief-staff-chinese-president-reveals-details?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2003042/chief-staff-chinese-president-reveals-details?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Aug 2016 15:27:22 +0000 The sentencing of Ling Jihua (令計劃 ) marks the third – and possibly the last – big “tiger” to be caged in President Xi Jinping’s (習近平 ) anti-corruption campaign. The one-time top aide to Hu Jintao (胡錦濤 ), Xi’s predecessor as president and Communist Party leader, is to serve life in jail for taking more than 77 million yuan (HK$$89 million) in bribes, illegally obtaining state secrets and abuse of power. The outcome of his secret trial, reported by mainland media, follows the jailing for life of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1988584/effective-transparent-system-best-way-tackle-graft?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1988584/effective-transparent-system-best-way-tackle-graft?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jul 2016 15:05:10 +0000 In the biggest case of its kind this year, Ling Jihua, the one-time high-flying aide to former president Hu Jintao, was exposed as part of a corrupt web of businessmen and politicians reaching across the nation’s north, east and southeast. Yet there was no mention of the web extending into coal-rich Shanxi, where Ling spent the first 23 years of his life. Ling, 59, was sentenced to life in prison for taking more than 77 million yuan (HK$89 million) in bribes, illegally obtaining state ­secrets... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1985652/missing-lings-chinese-state-media-silent-ex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1985652/missing-lings-chinese-state-media-silent-ex?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jul 2016 07:45:30 +0000 Beijing’s handling of the case of Ling Jihua, former president Hu Jintao’s top aide, bears some striking similarities to that of disgraced security tsar Zhou Yongkang. Both Ling and Zhou were tried in secret by the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court and both avoided the death penalty to be sentenced to life in prison. Both were also charged with taking huge bribes and abusing power. In addition, Ling was convicted of stealing a large amount of state secrets while Zhou was found guilty a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1985376/tigers-trial-striking-parallels-prosecutions-ex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1985376/tigers-trial-striking-parallels-prosecutions-ex?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jul 2016 17:15:30 +0000 Ling Jihua, the one-time top aide to former president Hu Jintao, has been sentenced to life in prison for taking more than 77 million yuan (HK$89 million) in bribes, illegally obtaining state secrets and abuse of power, mainland state media reported on Monday. The secret trial was held on June 7 at the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court but only reported by state media on Monday, along with the verdict. The reports of the trial revealed the once political rising star’s illicit dealings... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1985208/ling-jihua-former-chinese-presidential-aide-sentenced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1985208/ling-jihua-former-chinese-presidential-aide-sentenced?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jul 2016 09:00:45 +0000 The Communist Party’s corruption watchdog has vowed to ­track down and return fugitives from overseas, even if they have spent all their ill-gotten gains. In an article published by a website affiliated with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on Monday, the anti-graft watchdog said President Xi Jinping, who is also party general secretary, was using meetings with foreign leaders to increase cooperation on repatriation of fugitives. “No matter if it’s during formal visits or... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1966926/china-keep-overseas-graft-hunt-down-last-fugitive-even?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1966926/china-keep-overseas-graft-hunt-down-last-fugitive-even?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jun 2016 06:40:58 +0000 Former presidential aide Ling ­Jihua has been formally charged with taking bribes, ­illegally obtaining state secrets and abuse of power, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Ling, 59, the former chief of staff of ex-president Hu Jintao, was expected to face trial in the Tianjin First Intermediate People’s Court, the report said, citing the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. It did not say when the trial would take place. The indictment comes after the authorities spent more than 10 months... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1944570/ling-jihua-former-right-hand-man-ex-president-charged?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1944570/ling-jihua-former-right-hand-man-ex-president-charged?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 May 2016 08:45:45 +0000 A man who claimed to be the personal secretary to former presidential aide Ling Jihua lost his appeal against the life sentence on Thursday in a fraud case involving millions of yuan, mainland media reports. The accused, 31, identified only by his surname of Zhao, from eastern China’s Shandong province, had been convicted of swindling more than 19 million yuan (HK$23 million) from at least three businessmen between 2009 and 2013, Beijing-based Legal Evening News reported, citing court... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1934637/chinese-man-who-claimed-work-ex-presidential-aide-ling-jihua?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1934637/chinese-man-who-claimed-work-ex-presidential-aide-ling-jihua?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Apr 2016 04:30:30 +0000 China’s Communist Party cadres were warned on Tuesday to learn from the downfall of factions of corrupt officials, known as the “Petroleum” and “Secretary” gangs. The stern warning was meant for other factions within the party, who were believed to still be operating more in their clique’s interests than in the party’s, according to analysts. “[We] must constantly be alert of, discover and punish in time those who form their own circles within the party,” said an article published in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1913589/what-not-learn-zhou-yongkang-and-ling-jihua-fall-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1913589/what-not-learn-zhou-yongkang-and-ling-jihua-fall-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Feb 2016 14:11:25 +0000 Ling Wancheng, brother of a former Chinese presidential aide and sought by Beijing, wants to be “left alone” in the United States and write a book on golfing, his lawyer in the US said on Friday. Breaking silence for the first time since his brother was investigated in December 2014, Ling issued a statement through Washington lawyer Gregory Smith denying he had passed top secrets to US intelligence. Ling is the younger brother of Ling Jihua, the one-time top aide to former president Hu... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1912465/brother-disgraced-former-chinese-presidential-aide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1912465/brother-disgraced-former-chinese-presidential-aide?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:37:17 +0000 The younger brother of the disgraced former presidential aide Ling Jihua (令計劃) has reportedly defected to the United States and revealed some of China’s biggest state secrets – including those surrounding its nuclear weapons. The news website Washington Free Beacon reported on Wednesday that undercover Chinese agents in the US had been trying to capture or kill Ling Wancheng, who was suspected of one of the biggest intelligence breaches of the past 30 years. Ling Wancheng had revealed secrets... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1909266/telling-tales-brother-disgraced-chinese-presidential?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1909266/telling-tales-brother-disgraced-chinese-presidential?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Feb 2016 04:00:00 +0000 Beijing yesterday confirmed that the youngest brother of disgraced presidential aide Ling Jihua (令計劃) was hiding in the United States and that it was in talks with the US over Ling’s repatriation. The confirmation follows a report in the South China Morning Post in September that the repatriation of Ling Wancheng topped the agenda when China’s security chief Meng Jianzhu (孟建柱) visited Washington to prepare for President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) state visit. Ling Wancheng, a businessman and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1901299/o-brother-where-art-thou-china-contact-us-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1901299/o-brother-where-art-thou-china-contact-us-over?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Jan 2016 04:15:00 +0000 The Communist Party’s discipline chief Wang Qishan vowed yesterday there would be no let-up in the far-reaching anti-graft campaign in 2016. “Punishment works better than words,” Wang, head of the graft-busting Central Commission of Discipline Inspection, told a preparatory meeting for an upcoming CCDI conference involving provincial party leaders. “We will let the public see and enjoy our achievement fighting corruption,” he said. “The strength of our anti-corruption efforts will not be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1898971/punishment-better-words-chinas-top-graft-buster-vows-no?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1898971/punishment-better-words-chinas-top-graft-buster-vows-no?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Jan 2016 15:00:00 +0000 Another former associate of China's ex-presidential aide Ling Jihua who once worked in the heart of the Communist Party's machine will face prosecution for corruption and leaking party and state secrets, the top anti-graft agency said on Wednesday. Former National Tourism Administration deputy chief Huo Ke, 54, had been expelled from the party, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said, adding that it had handed over evidence to prosecutors for further investigation. Huo was also... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1848886/another-top-communist-party-cadre-accused-leaking-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1848886/another-top-communist-party-cadre-accused-leaking-state?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Aug 2015 06:45:45 +0000 The youngest brother of disgraced Chinese presidential aide Ling Jihua is hiding out in the United States with Beijing demanding his repatriation, US and mainland media report. Caixin, a prominent mainland news media outlet known for its investigative reporting, and The New York Times – citing US official sources – both reported on Tuesday that Ling Wancheng had fled to the US. However, Ling Wancheng’s exact whereabouts, or whether he had applied for asylum, was not disclosed. The New York Times... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1846348/china-wants-us-repatriate-disgraced-presidential-aide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1846348/china-wants-us-repatriate-disgraced-presidential-aide?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Aug 2015 05:45:00 +0000 Gu Liping – the wife of Ling Jihua, disgraced chief aide to China’s former president Hu Jintao – appears to be a jack of all trades, dabbling in jobs ranging from NGO work, entrepreneurial mentorship, and even journalism. But one factor that ties her diverse work together is their link to her husband’s power base, the China Youth League. Ling was dismissed as vice-chairman of China’s political advisory body after he came under corruption investigation late last year, and Gu has been taken in by... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1694835/diverse-work-disgraced-top-chinese-official-ling-jihuas-wife-all-linked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1694835/diverse-work-disgraced-top-chinese-official-ling-jihuas-wife-all-linked?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2015 08:15:00 +0000 The wife of fallen political star Ling Jihua's brother-in-law has been taken away for questioning, amid a widening corruption probe centred on the ex-aide to former president Hu Jintao. Luo Fanghua, a 46-year-old producer at state broadcaster CCTV, was detained late last month, ThePaper.cn cited several people at her workplace as saying. Luo is married to Gu Yuanxu, the brother of Gu Liping, who is Ling's wife. The reason for her detention was not given, but it comes after Ling was detained for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1681585/authorities-hold-cctv-producer-luo-fanghua-member-ling-jihuas-extended?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1681585/authorities-hold-cctv-producer-luo-fanghua-member-ling-jihuas-extended?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jan 2015 20:15:00 +0000 Xinhua has made a rare acknowledgment of factions within the Communist Party, and named key members who are tied to disgraced top cadres Zhou Yongkang and Ling Jihua. But President Xi Jinping had weighed the risks in going after such "tigers", the state mouthpiece said. "Tigers" refer to leading national figures targeted in the anti-corruption campaign. In an article carried on its affiliated news portal over the weekend, Xinhua named several fallen senior officials as connected to the so-called... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1674062/fallen-officials-behind-factions-xinhua-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1674062/fallen-officials-behind-factions-xinhua-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:00:45 +0000 China’s Communist Party has officially removed Ling Jihua from his job as head of the party’s United Front Work Department, the state news agency Xinhua reported today. He will be replaced in the post by Sun Chunlan, the current party chief of Tianjin. Sun, 64, is a member of the Communist Party’s Politburo. She was appointed party secretary of Tianjin in 2012 and was the only female provincial-level party chief in China. Ling 58, is the latest “big tiger” to be targeted by President Xi... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1671692/china-removes-ling-jihua-ex-hu-jintao-aide-communist-partys-united-front?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1671692/china-removes-ling-jihua-ex-hu-jintao-aide-communist-partys-united-front?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2014 09:08:40 +0000 A state media commentary on Friday called on party cadres to clean up their act and put their house in order as it alleged that family members of disgraced senior official Ling Jihua had become corrupted. The commentary, released through party mouthpiece People’s Daily’s mobile application, said one of the messages of the investigation against Ling, one-time top aide of former president Hu Jintao, was for the political elite to “restore family ethics”. The political elite should properly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668759/chinese-officials-warned-clean-their-act-and-rein-corrupt-family-members?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668759/chinese-officials-warned-clean-their-act-and-rein-corrupt-family-members?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Dec 2014 13:54:26 +0000 Mainland media unleashed an exposé on the business dealings of Ling Jihua's nephew and his mother, focusing on a public relations and advertising business that comprised clients across many government agencies, multinational corporations and well-known private firms. Ling took in Linghu Jian after his eldest brother passed away. Linghu is the family's original surname, which some members of the clan continue to use. Linghu Jian and his mother, Sun Shumin, established a series of advertising,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668544/business-group-ling-jihuas-nephew-touted-top-official-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668544/business-group-ling-jihuas-nephew-touted-top-official-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2014 21:15:30 +0000 Shares of the seven listed firms linked to the family of Ling Jihua fell yesterday as probes into the top aide to former president Hu Jintao prompted investors to cash out amid fears of a further slide. All the seven companies including LeTV, one of the mainland's leading entertainment portals, and Beijing Ultrapower Software saw panic selling as investors rushed to exit. The companies, mostly small-cap and startup firms listed on the SME board and ChiNext board at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1668545/investors-rush-cash-shares-linked-ling-family?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1668545/investors-rush-cash-shares-linked-ling-family?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2014 21:15:16 +0000 Ling Jihua, the one-time top aide of former president Hu Jintao, is likely to face the same fate as disgraced Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, mainland analysts say. Ling, 58, is the latest "big tiger" to be targeted by President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, though it is unclear if more senior figures are to be pursued. Following the downfall of Bo, investigations were launched into the former security tsar Zhou Yongkang , and the former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668570/ling-jihua-face-same-fate-bo-xilai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668570/ling-jihua-face-same-fate-bo-xilai?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:04:39 +0000 Ling Jihua, the one-time top aide to former president Hu Jintao, is being investigated by the Communist Party's anti-graft watchdog, it said on Monday.  Ling, 58, was under investigation for "suspected serious disciplinary violations", a term that usually refers to corruption, a statement read.  The announcement comes two years after Ling's political career was dealt a major blow with the controversy surrounding the death of his son Ling Gu in a Ferrari crash in March 2012. It marks the fall... https://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/1668161/timeline-life-and-career-ling-jihua-disgraced-top-aide-former-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/1668161/timeline-life-and-career-ling-jihua-disgraced-top-aide-former-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2014 06:45:30 +0000 With his rimless glasses, dapper shirts and neat, close-cropped hair, Wang Cheng cut an athletic figure on Beijing's top golf courses. The tanned, healthy-looking businessman was admired for his skill and sophistication and a fine swing that won him several amateur championships. Yet few would have linked the refined man with rumours in the capital that a powerful Shanxi figure named Ling was doomed. Yet those in the loop knew that the journalist-turned-businessman Wang Cheng liked to use a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668163/rise-and-fall-brother-ling-jihua-ex-aide-former-president-hu-jintao?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668163/rise-and-fall-brother-ling-jihua-ex-aide-former-president-hu-jintao?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2014 05:30:45 +0000 State-run media on the mainland have given prominent coverage to a short report about the corruption investigation into former presidential aide Ling Jihua, but have largely run only the brief statement from Xinhua. More commercial newspapers such as The Beijing News and the Oriental Morning Post in Shanghai ran the story underneath their front page headline, but then, like other state media outlets, referred only to the one-sentence report issued by Xinhua on Monday evening. The report said... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668164/corruption-probe-presidential-aide-china-widely-reported-state-run-media?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668164/corruption-probe-presidential-aide-china-widely-reported-state-run-media?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2014 05:15:45 +0000 His name means "planning", but being investigated for alleged corruption was likely the last thing one-time Communist Party stalwart administrator Ling Jihua had on his to-do list. As the personal aide to former president Hu Jintao, Ling was in the constellation of rising stars groomed as one of the sixth generation of leaders to succeed President Xi Jinping's administration in a decade. Yet on March 19, 2012, his world came crashing down. That fateful night a 5million yuan (HK$6.3 million)... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668151/how-sons-death-high-speed-car-crash-led-powerful-chinese-officials-fall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1668151/how-sons-death-high-speed-car-crash-led-powerful-chinese-officials-fall?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2014 03:15:15 +0000 Ling Jihua, the one-time top aide to former president Hu Jintao , is being investigated by the nation's anti-graft watchdog. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a brief statement yesterday that 58-year-old Ling was under investigation for "suspected serious disciplinary violations", a term that usually refers to corruption. It gave no further details. Ling is the latest top official to come under a corruption cloud since President Xi Jinping launched a massive... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1667990/senior-china-official-ling-jihua-placed-under-graft-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1667990/senior-china-official-ling-jihua-placed-under-graft-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2014 12:30:30 +0000 As mainland media continue to unveil unsavoury business dealings involving the family of Ling Jihua, the former presidential aide has kept active in political life by appearing in public and even writing for a party journal, adding to confusion over his own fate. Ling, former president Hu Jintao's top aide whose family and associates are being investigated for graft, came out with a show of loyalty to President Xi Jinping in an article published on Monday by the Communist Party's flagship... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1663147/former-hu-aide-ling-jihua-believed-be-graft-probe-target-expresses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1663147/former-hu-aide-ling-jihua-believed-be-graft-probe-target-expresses?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2014 03:00:45 +0000 Two years into President Xi Jinping's massive anti-corruption campaign in China, we have collected all the Communist Party's announcements of graft probes since Xi's rise to power. The data show how graft probes have spread across the nation and intensified since early 2014. Explore timelines on investigations in key provinces that are now graft hotspots, and find out how party investigators trace political links and money trails to bring down the “flies” and “tigers.” Click here to access the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1626744/tigers-and-flies-chinese-communist-partys-anti-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1626744/tigers-and-flies-chinese-communist-partys-anti-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Nov 2014 00:15:00 +0000 Graft-busters on the mainland are closing the net around a powerful family headed by Ling Jihua, for long the right-hand man of former president Hu Jintao. Ling Wancheng , the youngest of the five Ling siblings, recently left China for the United States via Hong Kong and Singapore but has since returned to the mainland, where he is under investigation, sources say. It is not clear if the businessman, better known as Wang Cheng, returned of his own volition or as a result of cooperation between... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1622436/net-closes-ling-jihua-one-time-top-aide-president-hu-jintao?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1622436/net-closes-ling-jihua-one-time-top-aide-president-hu-jintao?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Oct 2014 21:00:15 +0000 The second-highest graft buster in Shanxi was detained immediately after his supervisor published an article yesterday urging the punishment of officials who objected to the leadership's anti-graft crackdown. The official announcement by the Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the investigation into Yang Senlin, the executive deputy secretary of the provincial graft-fighting body, adds the 57-year-old to a list of officials brought down in a probe of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1557808/shanxi-no2-graft-buster-yang-senlin-confirmed-be-dentention?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1557808/shanxi-no2-graft-buster-yang-senlin-confirmed-be-dentention?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jul 2014 21:00:30 +0000 The detention of a relative of Ling Jihua, a former senior aide to ex-president Hu Jintao, has led to speculation the authorities may be building a case against Ling himself. Wang Jiankang, who is Ling's brother-in-law and a deputy mayor in Yuncheng in Shanxi province, has been in custody for more than 10 days. He is either helping with, or is directly implicated in a corruption inquiry, three sources told the South China Morning Post. Wang is the latest relative of Ling - currently a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1557124/ling-jihua-target-graft-probe-brother-law-ex-hu-jintao-aide-detained?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1557124/ling-jihua-target-graft-probe-brother-law-ex-hu-jintao-aide-detained?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2014 16:30:15 +0000 The former top aide to outgoing President Hu Jintao scraped through to vice-chairmanship of the nation's top political advisory body yesterday with the lowest number of votes, after his career was hit by a scandal over the cover-up of his son's death in a Ferrari crash in Beijing last March. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) unveiled its new leadership line-up yesterday, with 23 vice-chairmen and 299 standing committee members elected. Politburo Standing Committee... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1188769/hu-jintao-aide-pays-price-ferrari-scandal-killed-his-son?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1188769/hu-jintao-aide-pays-price-ferrari-scandal-killed-his-son?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 United Front Minister Ling Jihua, the former top aide to outgoing President Hu Jintao, was named one of 10 executive chairmen of the top political advisory body's new presidium, suggesting he might be named a vice-chairman of the body after its nine-day annual session that starts today. The united front minister is traditionally appointed one of the vice-chairmen of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a position carrying the rank of state leader. But Ling's... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1171093/ling-jihua-gets-cppcc-job-could-become-one-bodys-vice-chairman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1171093/ling-jihua-gets-cppcc-job-could-become-one-bodys-vice-chairman?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Ling Jihua, until recently the chief of staff of President Hu Jintao , has become the only former director of the Communist Party Central Committee's general office not to be elected a Politburo member or alternate member since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. All Ling's predecessors joined the Politburo as a full member or alternate member after heading the office. Most recently they have included Premier Wen Jiabao , who was head of the office from 1987 to 1992, former... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1083372/loss-politburo-seat-deals-further-setback-hus-former-chief-staff?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1083372/loss-politburo-seat-deals-further-setback-hus-former-chief-staff?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The former chief of staff of outgoing President Hu Jintao managed to secure a seat on the Communist Party's Central Committee yesterday despite the scandal over the cover-up of his son's death at the wheel of a Ferrari in a crash in March. Delegates to the 18th party congress chose Ling Jihua as one 205 members of the party's general ruling body. However, 94 delegates voted against his re-election, showing that not everyone supports a man who was once one of the president's closest aides. Ling,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1082627/risers-and-fallers-central-committee-voting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1082627/risers-and-fallers-central-committee-voting?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The chairman of China's biggest oil and gas producer has been questioned by the Communist Party's top discipline watchdog in relation to the Ferrari crash in Beijing earlier this year that claimed the life of the only son of Ling Jihua, party general secretary Hu Jintao's former top aide, sources say. They said the probe into China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) chairman Jiang Jiemin focused on a large sum of money - several tens of millions of yuan - that was transferred from CNPC to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1081916/oil-chief-quizzed-over-bid-cover-death-hu-aides-son-ferrari-crash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1081916/oil-chief-quizzed-over-bid-cover-death-hu-aides-son-ferrari-crash?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The ruling Communist Party is set to make the election of its elite Central Committee more competitive, which may cast further doubt over the political futures of several controversial candidates, including Ling Jihua, outgoing President Hu Jintao's former chief of staff, sources said. Nine per cent of the nominees are expected to be eliminated during the primary elections for full membership when the congress Presidium announces the exact margin today, the sources familiar with the party's... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1081150/car-crash-cover-could-force-ling-jihua-out-say-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1081150/car-crash-cover-could-force-ling-jihua-out-say-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 In a procedural move that nonetheless shores up his rise within the party hierarchy, Li Zhanshu has been appointed to oversee the departments under the Communist Party's Central Committee. The appointment comes just weeks after Li, an ally of President Hu Jintao, was made director of the General Office of the Central Committee. The second appointment solidifies Li's rise in the wake of the sudden transfer of top Hu aide Ling Jihua. Dr Chen Huirong, an assistant professor of public affairs at... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1074983/hu-jintao-ally-li-zhanshu-wins-second-party-post?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1074983/hu-jintao-ally-li-zhanshu-wins-second-party-post?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 In its latest issue, Hong Kong-based news magazine Asia Weekly writes that the two young women in the vehicle when Ling Gu, son of high-level Communist Party official Ling Jihua, died upon impact after crashing his Ferrari on March 18 this year were Tashi Dolma (Zhaxi Zhuoma), daughter of a deputy director of the Qinghai Provincial Public Security Department, and Yang Ji, then a student at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, reportedly the daughter of a well-known living... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1064667/beijing-ferrari-crash-passengers-identities-partially-revealed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1064667/beijing-ferrari-crash-passengers-identities-partially-revealed?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:40:02 +0000 Vice-President Xi Jinping re-emerged onto the public stage in Beijing yesterday after a two-week absence that fuelled rumours he was ill. Xi, the nation's presumed next leader, arrived at China Agricultural University for a national day popularising science. He delivered a 10-minute speech, twice as long as scheduled, standing outside in the sun underneath a banner showing the past four generations of communist leaders. "The vice-president looked in great health," said a professor in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1037969/vice-president-xi-jinping-makes-first-public-appearance-two-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1037969/vice-president-xi-jinping-makes-first-public-appearance-two-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Now it’s emerged after being kept quiet for several months that it was Ling Gu, the son of a loyal aide to President Hu Jintao, was the one killed in Ferrari accident in Beijing back in March. Reportedly Ling was half-naked when the crash occurred and his two passengers were equally or even less well-clad, suggesting high-speed hanky panky pre-crash. Yesterday’s SCMP story came just days after the Beijing government announced Ling Gu’s father had been transferred to a new position, a move that... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/1029568/train-and-tame-ferrari-boy-racers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/1029568/train-and-tame-ferrari-boy-racers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:48:03 +0000 Around midnight, an observer privileged enough to gain access to the secretive General Office of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing would often find the lights on in the office recreation room. Inside, one of the country's most powerful but least-known men would likely be engaged in something of a ritual: playing table tennis. After a long day, Ling Jihua liked to release some stress with a late-night match - and Ling had his share of stress. As chief of the General Office and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1028488/reshuffled-personal-secretary-ling-jihua-rose-power-hu-jintao?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1028488/reshuffled-personal-secretary-ling-jihua-rose-power-hu-jintao?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A speeding black Ferrari hit a wall on Beijing's North Fourth Ring Road in the early hours of March 18, then rebounded and crushed a railing on the other side of the road. A half-naked man in his 20s died immediately and two young women - one naked, one semi-naked - were seriously injured. Photos of the wreckage circulated online and many internet users took it as another drink-driving accident involving the "second-generation rich". People speculated that the young man, reportedly surnamed Jia,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1028489/exclusive-how-crash-cover-threatens-career-hus-top-aide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1028489/exclusive-how-crash-cover-threatens-career-hus-top-aide?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The crash of a black Ferrari on Beijing’s North Fourth Ring Road involved far more than sex, a fast car and a playboy. It also put the political career of Ling Jihua, President Hu Jintao’s top aide for more than two decades, at stake. In the early hours of March 18 – just three days after the Communist Party sacked Bo Xilai as party chief of Chongqing – a speeding Ferrari smashed into a wall, rebounded and crushed a railing on the opposite side of the road. One naked body and two half-naked... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1028268/black-ferrari-playboys-death-and-political-fallout-hu-jintaos-top-aide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1028268/black-ferrari-playboys-death-and-political-fallout-hu-jintaos-top-aide?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Sep 2012 10:06:26 +0000 Li Zhanshu , newly appointed director of the General Office of the Communist Party's Central Committee, appears to be a transitional figure despite being named to one of the most powerful positions in Beijing. Like his predecessor Ling Jihua , Li rose through the Communist Youth League, a key base of support for President Hu Jintao . Observers compared Hu's decision to put Li in the post, which manages the daily activities of top officials, to former president Jiang Zemin's appointment of his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1027880/hu-names-prot%C3%A9g%C3%A9-li-zhanshu-key-aide-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1027880/hu-names-prot%C3%A9g%C3%A9-li-zhanshu-key-aide-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000