TV Confessions Unnerve Top Execs

In throwback to the Mao-era public confession that defined The Cultural Revolution, the fashion for parading detained suspects, particularly high profile figures like Charles Xue might be good for Party propaganda but more lawyers are saying that the practice makes a mockery of the legal process.  Making an example of rumor mongers and those indicted on charges of corruption  send the required chilling effect through the business community and party cadres, coerced confessions do little to bolster confidence in rule of law.

“If involuntary to any degree, the admissibility of the confessions is in question,” said James Zimmerman, a managing partner at law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton and a former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce China.

China commentators haven't been blinded to the idea that despite denouncing the Mao-era polices that Bo Xi Lai was criticized over in the last Party meeting seems now to have become de riguer .

Publicising confessions before a formal criminal process could reflect “a wider trend of returning to Mao-style criminal justice”, said Eva Pils, law professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

 

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A Fly in the Oinment: Charles Xue Arrest

State media has been making a big thing of the arrest of Xue Manzi, known in the US as Charles Xue.  Arrested earlier this week on suspicion of soliciting prostitutes, it's till not clear what charges, if any he will face.  Coincidentally, Xue was quite a promienent voice on Weibo, with over 12 million followers, he frequently comments on social issues, and posts frequently about reform in China.  Making an example of him is obviously one of the governments top priorities when it comes to silencing dissenting voices online.

Not receiving quite the same amount of media attention is Cui Ya Dong, the High Court judge in Shanghai who has been accused by no less than 70 police officers of graft during his tenure as provincial chief in Chongqing.  By strange coincidence a video surface online of four Shanghai judges visiting a nightclub in Shanghai and leaving with a group of prostitutes.

In a letter signed with the thumbprints of 70 police officers, Cui was accused, amongst other thing of taking nearly 20RMB million in kickbacks and appropriating a huge amount of alcohol, totalling to around six tons.  Cui would later sell the liquor, bought with public funds, in Anhui.  As of the time of writing he is yet to be detained, but all references to him have been scrubbed from China search engines and social networks.

Also not in the news is the detention of Chinese reporter Liu Hu, who was arrested after posting message on Weibo accusing deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Ma Zheng Qi of dereliction, during time in...Chongqing.  Liu posted evidence that expose other corrupt officials in the city, but these posts were quickly deleted.

Since authorities aren't obligated to investigate accusation of corruption made by members of the public, nothing is done, unless someone has firsthand evidence somewhere.  For now it seems that while there is some effort to crackdown on graft in China, political motives are more often behind the trials and detentions that any kind of moral fibre.

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Fraud Investigators Arrested For Investigating Fraud

More details are emerging on the arrest of fraud investigators Peter Humphrey and Yu Ying Zeng who have been arrested for (and we wish we were joking about this) violating the privacy of Chinese citizens.

According to the official account on Xinhua, around 500 reports compiled by the married couple violated privacy laws, giving details of exits and entries by Chinese citizens, as well as address, phone numbers and information on real estate deals.  The couple were detained on July 10th, as they were investigating the GSK bribery scandal.

A video showing the apparent confession by Humphrey has been posted on the CCTV website, "I sometimes used illegal means to obtain personal information.  I very much regret this and apologize to the Chinese government.".  A number of commentators said that the man who made the confession had his face blurred, and it was not possible to confirm his identity.

The arrest has a chilling effect on the already skittish foreign consultancy and advisory community in China.

“When I started in Hong Kong in the early nineties, you had people who were China consultants, and whatever you wanted do in China, they could help you do it,” said Jeremy Gordon, the founder of China Business Services. “Now, China has become such an important part of the economy, and everyone needs to be there, so you have specialized people to do specific things.”

A smug Xinhua editorial proclaimed that "Whether it's a Chinese person or foreigner engaging in illegal activities, public security organs will firmly crack down without holding back," although the privacy laws that have been updated are broad enough to probably do more harm than good.  Earlier this year, 89 private detectives in Hubei Province were raided, and another 74 were the target of a police crackdown in Chongqing.  The Shanghai based firm run by Humphrey and Yu, ChinaWhys, was described in official Chinese reports as a "illegal investigation company.”

A spokesman for the United States Embassy in Beijing, Justin Higgins, said consular officers had visited Ms. Yu on July 16, soon after she was first detained. “We remain in contact with Ms. Yu and will continue to provide consular assistance,” Mr. Higgins said. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Beijing said he had nothing more to say at this stage.

 

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Bo's Conspiritors Still Surviving

Though Bo Xi Lai may be standing trial, and Wang Li Jun is incarcerated for 15 years, not much has been heard of the others that were involved in Bo's wheeling and dealing in Chongqing.  With some quick thinking and a lot of apologising, senior cadres in Chongqing are escaping trial, showing the uncertainty with which the Party is progressing with it's supposed crackdown on graft.

Wen Jia Bao was especially critical of the Chongqing party secretariat, reminding everyone who'd listen in one of his final speeches that a return to the more right-wing, Maoist era politicking that Bo was fond of would be a disaster for the country.  Ironically, it was a Mao era self-criticism that saved Huang's skin.  Part confession, part denouncement, it served to distance him from Bo's antics, and secure his future.

In the good old days, the mayor of the city, Huang Qi Fan described the relationship he was with his boss, Bo, as "like fish and water", neatly fitting in with Hu Jin Tao's "harmonious society" schtick.  Finding out exactly how fast your friends can forget you in Chinese politics,  and Huang wasted no time in denouncing Bo and his ilk, promising that the excesses of his reign will never be repeated.  Although a few junior heads have rolled, the Global Times take on corruption seems to be ringing truer than ever - corruption doesn't need to be eradicated, just brought down to a level that is acceptable to the people.

 

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Bo's Cronies Hanging onto Power

Bo Xi Lai finally goes on trial, and a number summary dismissals were made but senior cadres have managed to cling to power in Chongqing.

The failure to remove senior officials highlights the Party's uncertainty in how is should proceed in its crackdown on graft.

Several junior officials lost their jobs or were detained because of their proximity to Bo, but Huang is one of two senior allies not purged, underlining the leadership's caution as new President Xi Jinping seeks to maintain stability and unity.

Bo's former compadres have been eager to distance the themselves from the disgraced politician. Once saying the the relationship between him and his former boss was like that between fish and water, Chongqing mayor, Huang Qi Fan now promises the people of the city that the excesses of Bo's reign will never be allowed to happen again.

Former partner in crime, Wang Li Jun is currently serving 15 years for his role in the scandal, but Huang remains comfortable in power as mayor of Chongqing. As the outgoing premier and president both denounced Bo's affection for more right wing, Maoist practices, Huang used a self criticism, a Maoist throwback to secure his own position.

Wang Li Jun Trial Judge Removed From Post

AFP is reporting that the judge who presided over the trial of former Bo Xi Lai henchman, Wang Li Jun has been removed from his post.  Wang, a central figure in Bo's downfall, Gu Kai Lai's conviction for the murder of Neil Heywood, was sentenced to 15 imprisonment for abuse of power, bribe taking, defection and “bending the law for selfish ends.”  Hu Jin Tao  denounced him as a traitor to the Party and to China for his crimes.

The judge, Zhong Er Pu, has said that his sacking isn't as sinister as it seems because he's retiring - even though he's in his forties having been born in 1965.  The Chinese language DWNews.com has speculated that Zhong is being punished either for stepping out of line in the Wang trial, or that he is somehow caught up in (yet) another corruption scandal, this time involving Sichuan party official Li Chun Cheng.

No mention of "vacation-style medical treatment" stemming from overwork has yet been mentioned.

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