Shoppers walk past a screen showing Chinese president Xi Jinping delivering a New Year message in Beijing. Photograph: Jessica Lee/EPA“Corruption is the biggest threat facing the party, and countering corruption is the most thorough form of self-revolution,” he said this week.
More than four million officials were prosecuted on corruption charges between 2013 and 2021, including almost 400 at or above the provincial level. Last year alone saw 596,000 cases of corruption and misconduct investigated, with 462,000 individuals penalised, according to official figures. In most cases, the investigation starts as an internal party disciplinary procedure, an extrajudicial process during which the accused is not entitled to legal representation. Those under investigation can be detained for weeks or even months before their families are told where they are and before any criminal charges are brought.
“For party members and cadres, when faced with temptations and enticements, they must reflect on the party’s revolutionary ideals, think about the countless revolutionary ancestors who have sacrificed their lives and shed their blood, the weight of the party and people in their hearts, think about the consequences and harm of corruption, and think about the different fates of Marxist parties around the world,” the People’s Daily wrote this week.
The transaction often involves an intermediary so that the one paying the bribe will often not know the name of the official who will receive it. Some bribes are made in cash and others are paid to family members of the recipient, sometimes by paying college fees for children studying abroad.