China Creates Fear to Quell Corruption and Increase Revenue

Chinese Premier Li Qiang (C) speaks from the podium during his speech at the opening of the NPC, or National People's Congress, in Beijing on March 5, 2024. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Commentary

Over the past 10 years, more than 2 million Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members have been disciplined, and hundreds of thousands of officials have faced criminal charges. Those who are found guilty, particularly if retired, offer no value to the Party, putting them at risk of having their pensions and benefits discontinued and their assets confiscated, enabling the CCP to grow revenue while quelling corruption.

This threatening manner of governance has aroused fear and uncertainty in numerous party officials. Some of those under investigation have ended their lives to escape charges and protect their assets for surviving family members.

Retiring From the CCP Is a High-Risk Proposition

Mr. Zhou, a former CCP Bureau-Director level official now residing in the United States, who wishes to be identified by his surname, said that current Chinese officials feel threatened, especially those who are retired or nearing retirement.

“Once these officials retire, they offer no value to the state,” Mr. Zhou said.

“Currently, there are 80,000 officials at the Bureau-Director level or above nationwide, and when retired Bureau-Director level officials are included, the total reaches 300,000. The state finds it cost-effective to take down one person, saving at least 30 million yuan (approximately $4.12 million), as higher-level officials enjoy substantial medical benefits and other costly services. With no value left, the CCP is eager to ‘kill the donkey when the grinding is done’ to save money.

“Furthermore, these officials often have assets that the state confiscates upon conviction, stopping their salaries and cutting off medical expenses. Thus, the savings and asset recovery can amount to hundreds of millions. By targeting a sizeable portion of the total 300,000, the CCP gains significant revenue.”

Mr. Zhou said that corruption figures are often inflated.

“For example, a painting estimated to cost 30,000–50,000 yuan [approx. $4,100–$6,900] might be valued at 3 million yuan [approx. $412,000]. Officials are detained first and investigated later. They might be taken from a meeting and held for one to three months. They can be detained without seeing the light of day. Officials often commit suicide to preserve some family assets since their cases will be closed after their death,” he said.

“This method amounts to a form of terror governance. It’s a strategy to maintain political control and ensure obedience through fear. Even though only a few high-level officials are targeted annually, and Bureau-Director level officials are arrested more frequently, it creates widespread terror. It’s a political tool to intimidate and silence dissent. The second reason for doing so is the poor economy and the nation’s financial difficulties. The number of people that need to be investigated is larger than the figures that have been published.”

Changing Unwritten Rules Leave Officials Uncertain

Shi Shan, a senior editor of The Epoch Times, said that “effective management requires a value system for support.”

“Without an ideal value system, management becomes extremely challenging. Now, the CCP lacks both communist ideology and religious values as a foundation, resorting solely to fear for governance,” Mr. Shi said

Guo Jun, editor-in-chief of The Epoch Times in Hong Kong, said that communist ideology collapsed in China by the 1980s, especially after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The current CCP regime relies entirely on violence and fear to maintain control, leveraging the most basic survival fears, she said. A society needs a unified value system for operation, so nationalism and statism have replaced communism. These ideologies also require enemies, whether foreign forces or capitalists, she said. However, creating too many enemies has led to self-inflicted hardships as China faces various difficulties, she said.

“The CCP regime essentially operates as crony capitalism, resulting in extreme wealth disparities. Amidst calls for socialism and common prosperity, reviving socialist rhetoric has become crucial. However, this approach disrupts the practices of the past 40 years, leaving officials unable to adapt to the new unwritten rules,” Ms. Guo said.

From Arbitrary Power to Widespread Discontent

Independent television producer Li Jun said that “China’s current system allows top officials to do as they please.”

“I remember Zhou Yongkang, one of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee members, once said that at his level of office, he could basically do whatever he wanted. Even central, provincial, and municipal leaders often act with considerable autonomy. This arbitrary exercise of power was once commonplace, with subordinates singing praises regardless of their leader’s actions,” Mr. Li said.

He noted that anti-corruption efforts have instilled a fear-driven governance model.

“High-level factional infighting is a factor, as seen with Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign targeting Jiang Zemin’s loyalists. Local officials also employ fear tactics, ensuring immediate compliance from subordinates. Today’s officials are more obedient than they were ten years ago. Frequent arrests and charges—today a department head, tomorrow a bureau chief, and the day after that a provincial vice governor—have heightened this climate of fear, leading to widespread official discontent alongside public grievances,” he said.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.