As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues its decade-long anti-corruption campaign, an insider claims the regime is ramping up its efforts to meet internal monetary quotas for confiscated illicit gains.
Du Wen, the former Executive Director of the Legal Advisory Office of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Government, currently residing in Europe, claimed in an interview with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on May 22 that “These targets are real, I only learned about them last year.”
“A former colleague from the Discipline Inspection Commission informed me that in 2023, Inner Mongolia had an annual target of 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion). Initially, there was uncertainty, but they met the annual target within three months. By September, they had already confiscated 30 billion yuan ($4.23 billion).”
Chen Shih-min, an associate professor of political science at National Taiwan University, criticized setting monetary targets for anti-corruption efforts, calling it indicative of financial desperation at both central and local levels.
“The fact that Inner Mongolia could meet a 10 billion yuan target in just three months suggests that corruption is extremely widespread,” Mr. Chen noted. “In recent years, due to issues like local debt and the real estate market, tax revenues from local governments have significantly decreased, likely prompting the central government to target illicit money as a financial resource.”
Mr. Chen believes that if the fiscal situation improves, the authorities might not pursue anti-corruption efforts as aggressively, as mass crackdowns could destabilize Xi Jinping’s regime. He argued that systemic corruption is inherent in authoritarian regimes, and once illicit money is confiscated, there is no further accountability.
“In democratic countries, opposition parties ensure that any corruption by the ruling party or government is swiftly addressed. In the CCP, however, power is concentrated within the party, allowing it to control the scope and targets of anti-corruption efforts, making it impossible to eradicate systemic corruption,” Mr. Chen said.
Mr. Du emphasized the deep-rooted nature of corruption within the CCP’s system. “It’s like a tree that bears bitter fruit; removing a few pieces won’t make it produce sweet fruit. The most direct solution is to uproot the old tree and plant a new one suited to local conditions. But the CCP is clearly unwilling to relinquish its power,” he concluded.
The ongoing anti-corruption campaign has seen high-profile officials investigated in rapid succession.
From May 16 to May 20, Lou Wenlong, former Vice President of the Agricultural Bank of China, Tang Renjian, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Wang Hao, Vice Chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, were all placed under investigation.
Data from the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection shows that 26 senior officials have been investigated in the first half of 2024, compared to 47 throughout 2023. State-run media claims that this demonstrates the continued intensity and strictness of the anti-corruption efforts.
Many of these cases involve corruption amounts exceeding 100 million yuan ($14.1 million), underscoring the scale and pervasiveness of the problem.
Preliminary statistics from The Epoch Times show that at least ten officials were tried for corruption involving over 100 million yuan from January to April this year. These include three from the financial system, two from the tobacco industry, one from the National People’s Congress, two from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and two from state-owned enterprises.
