Zhou Yongkang's circle rounded up in graft purge

Want China Times, Fully Lin and Staff Reporter 2014-07-31

Zhou Yongkang at a meeting in May 2012. (File photo/Xinhua)

Officials who worked at security and law enforcement agencies led by Zhou Yongkang are also being brought down as it was announced this week that the former Politburo Standing Committee member is being probed for graft.

Chief among the targeted officials are Li Dongsheng, former deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security; Ji Wenlin, former deputy governor of Hainan province who once worked as Zhou's secretary; Yu Gang, a former official at the CPC's Central Politics and Law Commission, and Tan Hong, a former official of the Ministry of Public Security.

Zhou was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's highest decision-making body, between 2007 and 2012 and was the former secretary of the Central Politics and Law Commission, as well as a former head of the Ministry of Public Security.

In these positions, Zhou oversaw China's security and law enforcement institutions, with his power stretching to courts, prosecution agencies, police forces, paramilitary forces and intelligence units.

Though not officially, Beijing began its crackdown against Zhou in December 2012 by taking Wu Yongwen, former deputy head of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Hubei province, to Beijing for questioning with regards to his connections to Zhou.

Wu was followed by Li, who was removed from his position shortly after being probed in December 2013.

Earlier this year, Zhang Dongyang, chief prosecutor in Shengyang, was probed and Li Wenxi, a former public security official of Liaoning province, was sacked from both his government and party posts.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection stripped Ji, Yu and Tan of their party membership on July 2. Most of the officials targeted were accused of irregularities including graft, abuse of power and illegal detention.

At a meeting for officials in the law enforcement and security systems in January, president and Communist Party chief Xi Jinping urged them to commit themselves to purging corruption from the system.

Media reported that Zhou had bribed judges, police officers and prosecutors, as well as used his staff to tap the phone conversations of party leaders.

Meanwhile, Li had been reportedly tasked with collecting false information to mount attacks on top leaders, including Xi.