The top aide to former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) has been placed under investigation for unspecified disciplinary violations, Xinhua news agency said yesterday, in a sign that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is removing his predecessor’s influences while consolidating his power.
The evening announcement came two years after the former aide, Ling Jihua (令計劃), fell out of political favor when a lurid scandal involving his alleged cover-up of his son’s death in a speeding Ferrari disrupted his political ascent.
However, Ling returned to the public eye this year when authorities put his two brothers — one a politician in Shanxi Province and the other a businessman — under investigation, triggering speculation that Ling too would be implicated under Xi’s widening anti-corruption campaign.
The campaign is seen by many as a means to not only restore public confidence in the Chinese Communist Party, but also to root out threats to Xi’s political dominance.
Xi has removed Bo Xilai (薄熙來), a former politburo member, after imprisoning him for life on corruption charges.
Earlier this month, authorities arrested Zhou Yongkang (周永康), a former member of the politburo’s powerful Standing Committee, on charges ranging from adultery and bribery to leaking state secrets.
Both Bo and Zhou were seen as challengers to Xi’s political dominance.
The latest to fall is Ling, Hu’s former right-hand man. Although it is unclear whether Ling, 58, will be put on trial, the announcement of the investigation all but means the end of his political career, because the top leadership has likely already determined his fate.
Steve Tsang (曾銳生), senior fellow at the University of Nottingham’s China Policy Institute, said Ling’s fall is a clear sign that Hu never gained enough power to protect his associates after he stepped down as party head in 2012.
“Ling Jihua has been in trouble for two years, but the question was whether Hu Jintao’s protection could keep him out of trouble,” Tsang said. “In the end, not surprisingly, it was not enough.”
Tsang said Xi did not turn his attention to Ling earlier because he needed the support of associates of the Youth League to topple Zhou. Before becoming president, Hu led the Youth League, which became his power base. Ling also hailed from the Youth League.
“It’s a case that was put aside until they didn’t need that support any longer,” Tsang said. “There will be backslash from the Youth League people, but it won’t matter any longer.”
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