Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, April 03, 2014

Old news, good PR

This is not new for people following the anti-corruption campaign in China, but after two years of investigation, this case is now coming to court.

Here's a reminder that the Chinese legal system is built around the assumption that the investigatory process is supposed to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. The accused who are determined to be guilty are taken to court. The court confirms the investigation and imposes a sentence.

The second thing I'd want to know is who the accused general was close to in the upper echelons of the Party and PLA. Was he associated with Bo Xilai? Is somebody higher up in the system threatened by this case?

If Xinhua has reported this, the story is buried somewhere. I couldn't find it on Xinhua's web site.

China brings graft charges against general

Chinese prosecutors brought corruption charges Monday against a top general, state media reported, in a case highlighting abuse of power in the country’s vast military.

Gu Junshan

The Xinhua News Agency said a military prosecutor charged Lt. Gen. Gu Junshan with embezzlement, bribery, misuse of state funds and abuse of power. It gave no word on when or where a trial would be held.

Gu had been deputy head of the People’s Liberation Army’s General Logistics Department, a position offering him wide-ranging powers over procurement and contracts for the 2.3 milllion-member armed forces.

Gu’s prosecution had been expected for months after investigators last year hauled away four truckloads of alleged plunder including gold statues and cases of high-end liquor from one of his mansions…

In… his hometown of Puyang, his family was known for land grabs and real estate developments, the business magazine Caixin said…

China has for years sought to clean up corruption that has been seen as weakening the military’s moral and fighting ability. The armed forces were ordered to give up most of their business interests more than a decade ago, but a culture of opacity, authoritarianism and bribery has continued to lead to abuses.