The detention of Nanjing Mayor Ji Jianye earlier this week might seem like just the latest move in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s drive clean up the Communist Party ranks by going after both “tigers” and “flies.”
In fact, the Nanjing case marks a departure from Beijing’s usual method of coping with corruption by Party members, in a number of important ways.
Typically, announcements of an investigation and confinement of a high-ranking cadre that appear in the state-controlled press are terse and uninformative. That’s how the Nanjing media covered the event (in Chinese).
But the official coverage out of Beijing went far further this time, noting Ji’s ties to a Suzhou construction company that worked on major infrastructure projects in Nanjing (in Chinese) and accusing him of taking at least 20 million yuan ($33 million) in bribes (in Chinese).
It’s rare for an official’s connections with local businessmen to be mentioned publicly so early in an investigation. By calling attention to that relationship, Party disciplinarians were out to demonstrate that Ji fit the profile of an imprudent and immoral cadre. But the Party media machine was also revved up quickly to prevent social media from getting its usual jump on the news, before Weibo users could start speculating about the reasons for Ji’s dismissal. Beijing is now especially attentive to making its case before others do it for them.
Also interesting is the nature of the coverage. Much of the mainland press has focused more on Ji’s governing style as his alleged malfeasance. Ji’s treatment of personal staff and subordinates in Nanjing is being portrayed as “very rude and disrespectful” (in Chinese). One widely-reprinted commentary refers to Ji as a “bulldozer” when it came to policy matters there (in Chinese).
Indeed, it was Ji’s obsession with remaking Nanjing through massive urban development — sports stadiums and a disruptive subway project for the upcoming Youth Olympics to be held in the city, for example — that seems to have truly infuriated his superiors in Beijing.
According to public reports, there were unnecessary demolitions of homes to clear land for new buildings and roads, forced relocations of residents, and “projects that from time to time stimulated public resentment.” On one occasion, the renovation of the city to Ji’s specifications – by removing swathes of beloved wutong trees — led to large-scale mass protest by residents.
As one assessment concluded, “Ji’s four years in power disemboweled Nanjing” (in Chinese).
via With Takedown in Nanjing, China Corruption Drive Shifts Gears – China Real Time Report – WSJ.
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