Recently, the statement made by the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping once again emphasizing “there is no ‘iron hat king'” has sparked attention both domestically and internationally.
During the fourth plenary session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on January 6th of this year, Xi Jinping declared, “No matter how high the position, no matter how great the contribution, as long as there is corruption, there will be no tolerance.” Xi reiterated, “There are no ‘iron hat kings’ with impunity, no ‘iron hat king’, and no so-called ‘safe box’.”
It has been 10 years since Xi first mentioned “there is no ‘iron hat king'” on February 2, 2015. After 10 years of continuous anti-corruption efforts and crackdowns, why did Xi Jinping reiterate the concept of “there is no ‘iron hat king'” today? Many commentators speculate that today, 10 years later, Xi may be preparing to target another “big tiger.”
Shortly after Xi’s speech, reports emerged from overseas media that former member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Jia Qinglin, is under investigation.
Independent commentator Cai Shenkun posted on the social media platform X on February 4th, revealing that he had received multiple messages from China before the Chinese New Year, indicating that Jia Qinglin and his family, closely related to Xi Jinping, are currently under investigation by a certain agency.
Further revelations on social media claimed that Jia Qinglin was taken away for investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for two to three days, and was released back before the Chinese New Year. Although Cai Shenkun received this information three times, he doubted its accuracy and did not disclose it.
Speaking of Jia Qinglin, it brings to mind a major case during his tenure as the leader of Fujian Province – the Xiamen Yuanhua large-scale smuggling case.
The Xiamen Yuanhua large-scale smuggling case, one of the most significant corruption cases in the 50 years of the CCP’s rule involving the largest amount of money, the most number of leading cadres, and having the worst impact domestically and internationally. After the principal offender Lai Changxing and over 70 key smugglers fled overseas, it was revealed that this criminal syndicate smuggled goods worth 53 billion RMB, evading taxes of 30 billion RMB.
While this case has been concluded, a major unresolved issue remains – the serious corrupt individual hidden at the highest levels of the CCP who leaked top-secret documents to Lai Changxing has yet to be arrested.
On April 20, 1999, relevant leaders at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the General Administration of Customs were directed to conduct a thorough investigation into the Xiamen Yuanhua smuggling case. This document was undoubtedly classified as “top secret”. What’s extremely unusual is that the mastermind Lai Changxing learned about the directive six days before the heads of the specialized task force, including the Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Minister of Supervision at that time, He Yong, the Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, Mou Xinsheng, and the Deputy Minister of the Supervision Department, Gan Yisheng.
This fact indicates: Firstly, the leaker of this classified information must have had worked at the highest levels of the central government; Secondly, this leaker is an extremely dangerous individual, capable of revealing such crucial state secrets, thus posing a significant threat; Thirdly, the failure to promptly address this leaker poses immense risks; and Fourthly, the specialized task force on this case should take it seriously and investigate thoroughly.
This leaker is highly likely a severe corrupt individual who received massive bribes from Lai Changxing.
Who is the “relevant leadership at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the General Administration of Customs” mentioned in the directives regarding the Xiamen Yuanhua large-scale smuggling case?
Among the targets of investigation in the Xiamen Yuanhua large-scale smuggling case, there was a person named Ji Shengde. Ji Shengde was initially sentenced to death in the first trial, then commuted to a life sentence in the final verdict.
Who is Ji Shengde? He is the son of Ji Pengfei, a senior official in the Chinese Communist Party who had previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of the CCP Central Committee’s Department of External Liaison, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Secretary-General. Before the case, Ji Shengde was the Deputy Director of the Intelligence Department of the General Staff Department of the CCP’s military, holding the rank of Major General.
This implies that Ji Shengde is the son of the CCP elder Ji Pengfei, a senior military officer in the CCP, and a crucial figure in the military intelligence department. Investigating Ji Shengde without the directive from the then CCP General Secretary, President of the country, and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Jiang Zemin, would have been impossible.
Based on this, the “relevant leadership at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the General Administration of Customs” who issued the directives most likely include Jiang Zemin. The document with Jiang Zemin’s directives would have been categorized as top secret.
Article 14 of the CCP’s Secrecy Law stipulates, “Top-secret state secrets are the most critical state secrets, and their disclosure would cause exceptionally severe damage to national security and interests.”
Strangely, the top-secret document “investigate the Xiamen Yuanhua smuggling case” endorsed by Jiang Zemin was known to the principal offender, Lai Changxing, six days before the heads of the specialized task force including He Yong, Mou Xinsheng, and Gan Yisheng.
So, who leaked Jiang Zemin’s directives to Lai Changxing?
A reasonable assumption is that it was either Jiang Zemin himself or someone on his staff.
Overseas reports suggest that it is likely that Jiang Zemin’s secretary at that time, Jia Tingan, was the one who provided information to Lai Changxing.
On February 24, 2001, when Canadian writer Sheng Xue interviewed Lai Changxing at a male prison in Vancouver, she inquired, “Are you close with his (referring to Jiang Zemin) secretary? How many secretaries does he have?”
Lai Changxing replied, “Five. I am familiar with three of them. One is Jia Tingan (Jiang Zemin’s office director), responsible for his documents. One is Little A, young and handsome, a guard. Then there is Little B, a housekeeper. I know all three well. Otherwise, how would I know they were going to move Li Jizhou (Deputy Minister of Public Security). I told Li Jizhou, and he didn’t believe it. I could hear things others couldn’t. “I often visit Jiang Zemin’s home.” “Jia Tingan is his chief secretary, and I often chat with him.”
After Lai Changxing escaped to Canada, it took 12 years for the Chinese authorities to negotiate his return.
On July 23, 2011, Lai Changxing was repatriated to China. On May 18, 2012, Lai Changxing was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court. To date, Lai Changxing has served 14 years in the CCP’s prison.
While it may have been challenging to deal with the hidden individual leaking top-secret files within the highest levels of the CCP while Lai Changxing was in Canada, with Lai Changxing repatriated to China, Xi Jinping’s administration could initiate an investigation at any time.
However, despite Xi Jinping’s fierce anti-corruption rhetoric, he has yet to tackle the “major tiger” hidden within the highest echelons of the CCP – the one leaking top-secret information to Lai Changxing.
The answer to why Xi Jinping has not investigated the “major tiger” still hidden within the highest levels of the CCP who leaked top-secret information to Lai Changxing is relatively simple: Xi’s anti-corruption campaign is not truly about fighting corruption, but rather using it as a tool in power struggles. Xi will only order an investigation when he perceives a high-ranking official as a threat to his authority; otherwise, no such action will be taken.