Former Chinese Graft Watchdog Wang Could Fall Next
Investigation of Wang’s former secretary seen as political rather than corruption
The investigation of a deputy director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration raises the question whether the trackers are circling his former boss, China’s former anti-corruption czar Wang Qishan, 77. Wang was the first chief of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, from November 2012 to October 2017, stepping down from his last post as Chinese Vice President in March 2023.
If Wang, previously regarded as a close ally of Xi, were to fall, he would be one of the most senior officials to succumb to the Chinese leader’s marathon anti-graft campaign, an almost-unprecedented shock, raising speculation among China-watchers that Xi’s campaign is turning from graft to political enemies. No sitting vice president has ever been arrested, although Wang is retired. Known as the “chief of the fire brigade” for his ability to manage crises, Wang has held high-stakes roles including acting Beijing mayor to manage the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak, and purged hundreds of high-ranking “tigers” and lower-level “flies” as Xi’s anti-crime confederate.
“Most communist purges are almost by definition political,” said an analyst who asked not to be named. “In the communist system, there is no independent check on powers. Corruption is therefore rampant. So the power-that-be can easily choose targets to purge, using economic crimes as excuses. If Wang can be taken down, who else cannot be?”
Xi’s 13-year-old anti-graft campaign continues with the investigation of Zhou Liang, Wang’s former long-time secretary, announced on the official anti-corruption website on March 24. Zhou is the latest in a gaggle of top Wang proteges and deputies to come under suspicion.
“Realistically, I think it’s just a matter of time when Wang will be taken down,” said a risk consultant who declined to be named. “Xi is systematically taking down any and all potential replacements of himself. It could mean Zhou Liang was engaging in corrupt activities without Wang Qishan being aware, or the snake is now eating its own tail.”
“Wang Qishan viewed Zhou Liang as a son… according to this trend, Wang Qishan might fall into Zhou Yongkang’s fate,” tweeted David Tsai, a US-based social media influencer, on March 25. Zhou Yongkang, previously China’s top law enforcement official, was taken down in the anti-graft campaign which was then headed by Wang. Zhou was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2015.
Zhou Liang was Wang’s secretary for 20 years starting in 1997, when Wang was vice-governor of Guangdong province. Zhou Liang followed Wang when the latter became party chief of Hainan province, mayor of Beijing and deputy prime minister. He continued to serve under Wang when the latter headed the Central Committee for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the very anti-corruption agency now investigating Zhou Liang. In November 2017, shortly after Wang stepped down as anti-corruption czar, Zhou Liang transferred to the NFRA, which regulates China’s banking and insurance sectors.
“Wang Qishan’s several favorite generals have been cut down…. The first three were given suspended death sentences, this fourth one (Zhou Liang) is expected to get a suspended death sentence, with all the chips taken in,” tweeted Xiaoping Chen, a US-based Nieman fellow, on March 25.
In China’s judicial system, a suspended death sentence means the convicted person can escape execution if he cooperates with the authorities – the sentence given for corruption in October 2024 to Fan Yifei, a former Wang protege and former vice governor of the People’s Bank of China. Fan was chief financial officer of China Construction Bank when Wang was vice governor of the state-owned bank.
A former Wang secretary, Tian Huiyu, a former president of China Merchants Bank, also received a suspended death sentence. Tian was Wang’s secretary when the latter headed China Merchants Bank, one of the country’s largest commercial lenders. Another former secretary of Wang, Dong Hong, was given a suspended death sentence in January 2022. Ironically, Dong was a key enforcer of the CCDI when Wang headed the anti-graft agency. Dong was Wang’s personal secretary from 2000 to 2006, when the latter was head of the State Council’s Office for Economic System Reform.
On December 21, 2016, an article of the Jamestown Foundation by the US think tank’s senior fellow Willy Lam, said, “Other members of the fast-growing Wang Qishan faction are up-and-coming cadres who worked with the charismatic princeling when he served in the finance sector. Wang was Vice-Premier in charge of Finance from 2008 to 2013; a top manager of the China Construction Bank and the People’s Bank of China from 1989–1997; and Vice-Governor of Guangdong in charge of finance from 1998–2000. Many of Wang’s underlings have become movers and shakers in the world of banking. For example, Tian Huiyu, who was Wang’s secretary when the latter headed the China Construction Bank, has been President of the China Merchants Bank since 2013.”
“Wang has also played a role in placing several of his protégés in senior slots in regional administrations. A prime example of Wang’s finance-sector associates who have succeeded is Party Secretary of Hubei Province Jiang Chaoliang,” Lam added. On March 17, Jiang was indicted on bribery charges.
Lam presciently wrote on December 21, 2016, “But Wang’s growing power may eventually make him a threat.”
An article by Bo Zhiyue, a China watcher, in Think China, a Singaporean e-magazine, on September 27, 2022 said Xi had taken steps to significantly undermine Wang’s power by either dismissing his comrades-in-arms or sending his former subordinates to jail for corruption.
In China, the investigation of a senior official’s underling sometimes led to the downfall of that official. For example, in August 2006, Qin Yu, an aide to then Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu, was arrested for corruption. Subsequently, in April 2008, Chen was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Politics rather than graft
“I think of these anti-corruption purges as being politically motivated,” said an ex-banker, who declined to be named.
On the afternoon of March 24, the NFRA convened a meeting to denounce its deputy director Zhou Liang, the financial regulator announced on the same day. Apart from vague accusations of corruption against Zhou Liang, the announcement contained no details of his corruption. Instead, the meeting called for unity under Xi as “the core” and increased political understanding, giving the meeting a heavily political flavor.
Xi has shown no qualms of removing senior officials who were his erstwhile allies. In January, Zhang Youxia, China’s most senior general, was investigated for corruption along with another senior general, Liu Zhenli, Asia Sentinel reported on January 26. Xi and Zhang were childhood friends whose fathers fought the Nationalists together during the Chinese civil war.
So President Xi has well and truly gone full Tiberius now with his political purges. If nothing else, he's practically guaranteeing the fracturing of the CCP after his death and with it perhaps even the very existence of the unified mainland Chinese state post-1949.