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So now it’s the turn of the vice mayor of China’s largest city. The high-ranking official ended up in custody in May 2023 for “serious violation of party discipline” and was expelled from the CPC six months later. Now there is a show trial in court, where Xiong Xue expects a draconian sentence – up to and including the death penalty.
Chongqing produces such cases against top party officials like on an assembly line. 14 years ago, it was one of the rising stars of the communist elite who made a name for himself as an iron fighter against corruption in the city: Bo Xilai. The cadre, which was as eloquent as it was unscrupulous, wanted to use its purge to finally make a name for itself for the highest party and state office – and to displace its rival Xi Jinping. But Xi prevailed and had Bo Xilai thrown into prison in 2012 for corruption and abuse of power, where he remains today. His successor as party leader in Chongqing fared no differently in 2018 when a court sentenced him to life in prison for bribery. And many other officials in the city shared his fate.
There are three things you can learn about Communist China in Chongqing.
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