BEIJING: China’s ruling Communist Party announced a corruption investigation into a one-time senior aide to former president Hu Jintao yesterday, as President Xi Jinping opens another front in his sweeping battle against deep-rooted graft.
In a terse and brief statement on its website, the party’s anti-corruption watchdog said that Ling Jihua (pictured) was being investigated for “suspected serious discipline violations”, the usual euphemism for graft. It gave no other details. But two sources with ties to the leadership said that Ling, who heads a party body charged with reaching out to non-Communists and holds a rank equivalent to a vice premier, may escape prosecution.
“He is under investigation, but it does not necessarily mean he will be prosecuted,” one source with ties to the leadership told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This is Xi Jinping being fair,” the source added, meaning that the president is keen to show his campaign will target anyone and that nobody is safe, no matter what their party affiliations.
Several allies of another former president, Jiang Zemin, have also been targeted, including former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai and former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang. “Xi is not targeting a specific faction,” said the second source. “Hu Jintao’s men are also being investigated.”
Ling Jihua was demoted in September 2012 after sources said his son was involved in a deadly crash involving a luxury sports car. The car, a Ferrari according to some sources, crashed in Beijing in March 2012 in an embarrassment for the ruling Communist Party. REUTERS
