Corruption in Chinese Communist Party: China's ex-minister of Justice faces investigation

Fu Zhenghua, deputy director of the Social and Legal Affairs Committee, a member of China's top political advisory body, is being investigated for disciplinary reasons. Zhenghua is suspected of violating Communist Party of China (CPC) discipline and legislation, according to China's top anti-graft authority on October 2.

Zhenghua, a high-profile figure who used to be a 'star' official in the Chinese government, is now embroiled in corruption. ANI reported quoting Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of Peking University's Research Center for Government Integrity-Building, "this obviously illustrates that the problem of corruption is firmly embedded in China's political and legal system. As we enter the next one hundred years of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), we must safeguard the integrity of our political and legal systems in order to ensure the principle of the rule of law."

Corruption in China

Before joining the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Zhenghua was the Minister of Justice. Fu headed the investigation against Zhou Yongkang, one of the most senior officials convicted in the anti-corruption drive, when he was deputy minister for public security. Under Xi's predecessor, President Hu Jintao, Zhou, a former public security minister, was one of nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the highest body of the Chinese Communist Party.

In 2015, Zhou was found guilty of collecting bribes, misusing power, and leaking state secrets and was sentenced to life in jail. Meng Hongwei, who was once the vice minister of public security, was also sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for bribery in January 2020.

Another high-profile case involves Peng Bo, a former deputy head of the office for the central leadership group for the prevention and handling of cult-related activities, who was expelled from the CPC in August due to discipline violations and faces prosecution for severe crimes. Xi has been accused of exploiting the anti-corruption campaign to expel political opponents, and Zhou's demise was regarded as burying a once-powerful faction inside the Communist Party. The probe into Fu comes just two days after the party's discipline commission fired Sun Lijun, a former deputy minister of public security accused of embezzlement and abandoning his post during the COVID-19 epidemic.

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: AP