BEIJING (Reuters) — China has put Zhou
Yongkang, one of the most powerful politicians of the last decade, under
virtual house arrest while the ruling Communist Party investigates
accusations of corruption against him, several sources said on
Wednesday.
Zhou is the most senior official to be ensnared in a graft scandal
since the Communists came to power in 1949. He was the domestic
security tsar and a member of the party's Politburo Standing
Committee — the pinnacle of power in the country — when he retired
last year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered a special task force formed in
late November or early December to look into several accusations
brought against Zhou by political rivals, sources with ties to the
leadership told Reuters, requesting anonymity to avoid repercussions
for discussing secretive elite politics.
"Zhou Yongkang's freedom has been restricted. His movements have
been monitored," one source said, adding that he cannot leave his
Beijing home or receive guests without prior approval.
Zhou is being investigated for violating party discipline, official
jargon for corruption, the sources said. They did not say what the
specific allegations were.
Xi was installed as head of the party just over a year ago, and as
president in March, and the investigation illustrates his growing
power and confidence that he can manage any rift that may ensue.
In ordering the investigation, Xi has broken with an unwritten
understanding that members of the Standing Committee will not be
investigated after retirement.
But Xi has yet to decide whether Zhou would be publicly prosecuted,
pending completion of the internal probe, the sources said. Xi has
declared war on corruption, vowing to go after powerful "tigers"
like Zhou as well as lowly "flies".
"Xi has pulled out all the tiger's teeth," a second source said,
referring to the downfall of Zhou's men, including Jiang Jiemin, who
was the top regulator of state-owned enterprises for just five
months until September when state media said he was put under
investigation for "serious discipline violations".
Jiang was previously chairman of state-owned China National
Petroleum Corp (CNPC) — Zhou Yongkang's power base — as well as one
of its subsidiaries, oil-and-gas behemoth PetroChina. Zhou served as
CNPC's general manager from 1996-1998, having risen through the
ranks.
"Zhou Yongkang is a toothless tiger and tantamount to a dead tiger.
The question is: will Xi skin the tiger?" the source said, referring
to a trial.
Political analysts say such an indictment and a trial would instill
fear in other retired leaders and the party's 80 million members,
worsening infighting among rival political factions.
Jonathan Fenby, director of China research at analyst group Trusted
Sources, said any form of public trial of Zhou would be "potential
for embarrassment ... given his long tenure at the top".
The Chinese government has neither confirmed nor denied
Chinese-language media reports in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United
States that Zhou has been arrested on charges of corruption and
other crimes.
Zhou and his family could not be reached for comment. It is not
clear if they have lawyers.
The cabinet spokesman's office, which doubles as the party's public
affairs office, did not respond to a request for comment.
Zhou was a patron of the once high-flying politician Bo Xilai, who
was jailed for life in September for corruption and abuse of power — the worst political scandal since the 1976 downfall of the Gang of
Four at the end of the Cultural Revolution.
"Xi Jinping and (Premier) Li Keqiang hate Zhou Yongkang as he was
the only standing committee member who opposed ousting Bo Xilai.
They are gunning for Zhou," said a source who has ties to the
military.
Bo's career was stopped short last year by the attempted defection
of his estranged police chief who implicated Bo's wife in the murder
of a British businessman over a business dispute. Bo's wife and his
former police chief have been convicted and jailed.
"Zhou's men have been sidelined," another source said.
"The Central Commission of Political Science and Law has been
cleansed of Zhou's men," the source said, referring to the powerful
party body once headed by Zhou that oversees the police force, the
civilian intelligence apparatus, judges, prosecutors and
paramilitary police.
The movements of Zhou's eldest son, Zhou Bin, have also been
restricted while he helps with the corruption investigation that has
implicated Jiang, the regulator of state-owned enterprises.
The elder Zhou retired as domestic security tsar and from the
standing committee during a sweeping leadership reshuffle last year.
During his five-year watch, government spending on domestic security
exceeded the defense budget.
He was last seen at an alumni celebration at the China University of
Petroleum on October 1.
He was also among party leaders who offered condolences or sent
flowers to the family of a respected educator who died last month,
state media reported on November 26.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper reported in late
August that the leadership had agreed to open a corruption
investigation into Zhou.
But sources with ties to the leadership told Reuters at the time
that Zhou was merely helping authorities with the investigation into
state energy companies and, contrary to media reports, was not the
target then.
That changed after Xi ruled that no one was above the law.
Zhao Hongzhu, one of the party's top anti-corruption officials,
declared in October that anyone who violated party discipline or
broke the law would be punished "regardless of who it involved, how
much power he has or how high his position is".
