Photo courtesy of WikipediaIn a speech reprinted in the Communist Party publication Qiushi Journal, Xi Jinping gave a tongue lashing to corrupt officials.
The man widely assumed to be the next president of China said some cadres were “indulging in feasting and pleasure-seeking, and have consequently fallen into the abyss of luxury and corruption.”
Xi didn’t name names, and didn’t have to. The unstated target of Xi’s rhetoric was almost certainly former Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai, whose headline-grabbing downfall has threatened to overshadow the upcoming Eighteenth Party Congress, at which China’s new leadership is expected to be unveiled.
Xi’s speech ended on a triumphal note: “Looking back, we are proud of our glorious achievements. Looking forward, the future is bright and we are confident. Let us rally closely around the CPC Central Committee…and hold up high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics…[L]et’s welcome the Chinese Communist Party Eighteenth National People’s Congress with flying colors!”
Xi’s connections to immense wealth have been subjected to recent media scrutiny. In the weeks since Bloomberg ran a story on the vast fortune controlled by Xi’s extended family, employees of the news agency have reportedly been tailed by people believed to be state security agents.
Sources say Bloomberg reporters in China have been advised not to send the story around via email, or even to be seen with a printed copy of it.
Sources: Qiushi Journal (求是杂志), The Telegraph, Financial Times
_________
From the China Compliance Digest (Issue No. 27: August 6, 2012). For a limited time, subscribers to the FCPA Blog will receive a complimentary one-month subscription to the China Compliance Digest. Subscribe to the FCPA Blog at the box on the top right.
Comments are closed for this article!