Xi Jinping: Anti-graft drive will target both 'tiger and fly'
Staff Reporter 2013-01-24 15:31
Xi Jinping, right, will replace Hu Jintao, left, as China's president in March. (Photo/Xinhua)
China's new leader Xi Jinping has said he will continue his anti-graft campaign until every seed of corruption is wiped out in the country, reports Duowei News, an outlet operated by overseas Chinese. The new general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party was speaking at the second plenary session of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's corruption watchdog.
All seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee attended the session, where Xi, who will assume the presidency in March, said the latest drive to stamp out corruption will target not only "tigers" — senior officials who use their office for their own benefit — but also lower ranking "flies." Xi warned all officials and cadres that they must no longer see themselves as more privileged than the general public.
Only by staying close to the people can the party survive and maintain its legitimacy to rule, Xi reportedly said, and officials should take what he called the traditional Chinese values of honesty and frugality as their watchwords in the fight against corruption. Xi reminded every party member that they are also citizens in a speech that also emphasized the words "the people" and "responsibility."
Though a number of officials have been sacked since Xi became secretary in high-profile cases often uncovered by internet whistleblowers, many observers suspect it will be tough for the new leadership of Xi and incoming premier Li Keqiang to remove corrupt officials who have strong connections to senior or retired party leaders.
