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| Chinese Antigraft Campaign Focuses on a Coal-Rich Province | Chinese Antigraft Campaign Focuses on a Coal-Rich Province |
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| HONG KONG — A burst of announcements over the past week has revealed deepening inquiries into potential corruption in Shanxi Province, a part of northern China rich in coal and opportunities for graft. | HONG KONG — A burst of announcements over the past week has revealed deepening inquiries into potential corruption in Shanxi Province, a part of northern China rich in coal and opportunities for graft. |
| The Communist Party’s central agency for uncovering corruption said it was investigating two senior officials in Shanxi, following a succession of others this year. The public security chief of Taiyuan, the provincial capital, was dismissed, and reports said that he, too, faced graft allegations. And other reports said that Zhang Xinming, a Shanxi coal baron trailed by controversy, was taken away by investigators, following an inquiry into a state company that made a disputed mine purchase from him. | The Communist Party’s central agency for uncovering corruption said it was investigating two senior officials in Shanxi, following a succession of others this year. The public security chief of Taiyuan, the provincial capital, was dismissed, and reports said that he, too, faced graft allegations. And other reports said that Zhang Xinming, a Shanxi coal baron trailed by controversy, was taken away by investigators, following an inquiry into a state company that made a disputed mine purchase from him. |
| Shanxi, with its dense web of officials, coal wealth and resource deals, appears to be President Xi Jinping’s next proving ground for attempting to persuade officials and the public that he is serious about ending entrenched graft in the party’s ranks. Five former or current members of the Shanxi party’s Standing Committee — the province’s most powerful body — have come under investigation this year, and at least 16 other officials in the province have been investigated on suspicion of corruption or other abuses of power, according to a count from the website of the party’s main anticorruption agency, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. | Shanxi, with its dense web of officials, coal wealth and resource deals, appears to be President Xi Jinping’s next proving ground for attempting to persuade officials and the public that he is serious about ending entrenched graft in the party’s ranks. Five former or current members of the Shanxi party’s Standing Committee — the province’s most powerful body — have come under investigation this year, and at least 16 other officials in the province have been investigated on suspicion of corruption or other abuses of power, according to a count from the website of the party’s main anticorruption agency, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. |
| “Corruption here has become even worse than in other provinces, much worse,” Gao Qinrong, a former journalist from Shanxi who closely follows politics there, said by telephone from Taiyuan. Mr. Gao was arrested in 1998 and imprisoned for eight years after reporting on official corruption in Shanxi. | “Corruption here has become even worse than in other provinces, much worse,” Gao Qinrong, a former journalist from Shanxi who closely follows politics there, said by telephone from Taiyuan. Mr. Gao was arrested in 1998 and imprisoned for eight years after reporting on official corruption in Shanxi. |
| As China’s economy and energy demand boomed over the last decade, Shanxi prospered from coal and associated industries. It also grew deeply corrupt, and the inquiries are likely to ensnare more officials who peddled access to mines, land, credit, business orders and promotions, Mr. Gao said. | As China’s economy and energy demand boomed over the last decade, Shanxi prospered from coal and associated industries. It also grew deeply corrupt, and the inquiries are likely to ensnare more officials who peddled access to mines, land, credit, business orders and promotions, Mr. Gao said. |
| “It has coal, coal brought money, that brought corruption,” he said of Shanxi. “With all the money around, officials threw themselves into buying and selling posts, and with the posts, they could get more coal and more money.” | “It has coal, coal brought money, that brought corruption,” he said of Shanxi. “With all the money around, officials threw themselves into buying and selling posts, and with the posts, they could get more coal and more money.” |
| Corruption investigators have already burrowed deep into Sichuan Province, in southwest China, which was once run by Zhou Yongkang, the most senior official to come publicly under a corruption inquiry since the founding of the People’s Republic. Teams from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection have also conducted inquiries in other provinces. | Corruption investigators have already burrowed deep into Sichuan Province, in southwest China, which was once run by Zhou Yongkang, the most senior official to come publicly under a corruption inquiry since the founding of the People’s Republic. Teams from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection have also conducted inquiries in other provinces. |
| The investigations in Shanxi have drawn particular attention because of the wealth at stake and because the inquiries could touch levels of the political elite that once seemed invulnerable. In June, Ling Zhengce — whose brother Ling Jihua worked as a top aide to Hu Jintao when Mr. Hu was president — lost his post as deputy head of a government advisory council in Shanxi and was put under investigation. | The investigations in Shanxi have drawn particular attention because of the wealth at stake and because the inquiries could touch levels of the political elite that once seemed invulnerable. In June, Ling Zhengce — whose brother Ling Jihua worked as a top aide to Hu Jintao when Mr. Hu was president — lost his post as deputy head of a government advisory council in Shanxi and was put under investigation. |
| Ling Jihua has not been publicly accused of any misdeeds by the government. But the inquiries into his brother and other officials have left him vulnerable, and other senior officials may fall, Mr. Gao said. | Ling Jihua has not been publicly accused of any misdeeds by the government. But the inquiries into his brother and other officials have left him vulnerable, and other senior officials may fall, Mr. Gao said. |
| “It can’t stop here. Shanxi will have more big tigers,” he said, using Mr. Xi’s term for corrupt senior cadres. “Ordinary people talk among themselves about who will come next. There are a few names that come up regularly.” | “It can’t stop here. Shanxi will have more big tigers,” he said, using Mr. Xi’s term for corrupt senior cadres. “Ordinary people talk among themselves about who will come next. There are a few names that come up regularly.” |
| The party’s graft inquiries have become a ritualized procession: the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, or a local branch, names officials as under investigation for “violations of discipline”; their colleagues gather to endorse the inquiry, denounce their former comrades and vow loyalty to the party and to Mr. Xi; and the state-controlled news media issues reports about the misdeeds and sordid lives of the fallen officials. The same has happened in Shanxi in the past week. | The party’s graft inquiries have become a ritualized procession: the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, or a local branch, names officials as under investigation for “violations of discipline”; their colleagues gather to endorse the inquiry, denounce their former comrades and vow loyalty to the party and to Mr. Xi; and the state-controlled news media issues reports about the misdeeds and sordid lives of the fallen officials. The same has happened in Shanxi in the past week. |
| Last Saturday, the inspection commission announced two new targets: Chen Chuanping, the party chief of Taiyuan; and Nie Chunyu, a senior administrator of the province’s Standing Committee. On Sunday, the Taiyuan authorities announced that the city’s public security chief, Liu Suiji, had been dismissed, and local news reports later said that Mr. Liu was ensnared in corruption allegations. Two recent predecessors in charge of Taiyuan’s police have also fallen under graft inquiries since 2011. | Last Saturday, the inspection commission announced two new targets: Chen Chuanping, the party chief of Taiyuan; and Nie Chunyu, a senior administrator of the province’s Standing Committee. On Sunday, the Taiyuan authorities announced that the city’s public security chief, Liu Suiji, had been dismissed, and local news reports later said that Mr. Liu was ensnared in corruption allegations. Two recent predecessors in charge of Taiyuan’s police have also fallen under graft inquiries since 2011. |
| Separately, China Resources Power, embroiled in a controversial mine deal in Shanxi, said on Tuesday that its president, Wang Yujun, was under investigation and had been suspended. The company, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is an arm of China Resources Holdings, a state-owned conglomerate whose chairman, Song Lin, came under investigation in April, after he was criticized over the deal. | Separately, China Resources Power, embroiled in a controversial mine deal in Shanxi, said on Tuesday that its president, Wang Yujun, was under investigation and had been suspended. The company, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is an arm of China Resources Holdings, a state-owned conglomerate whose chairman, Song Lin, came under investigation in April, after he was criticized over the deal. |
| China Resources Holdings and China Resources Power engineered the purchase of three mines and other facilities in Shanxi in 2010, which aggrieved shareholders said were worth far less than the $1.6 billion or so that China Resources arms and a partner state firm paid for a controlling stake, according to documents filed in a lawsuit in Hong Kong. China Resources denied any wrongdoing but later said it was cooperating with the inquiry into Mr. Song. | |
| This week, news reports said that Zhang Xinming, whose company sold the mines to China Resources, was also detained for investigation early this month. A Shanxi coal mine owner who has long had dealings with Mr. Zhang confirmed the reports, as did Li Jianjun, a freelance Chinese journalist who has publicized the allegations about Mr. Zhang and China Resources. The mine owner spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fears that publicly commenting could hurt his investments in the province. | This week, news reports said that Zhang Xinming, whose company sold the mines to China Resources, was also detained for investigation early this month. A Shanxi coal mine owner who has long had dealings with Mr. Zhang confirmed the reports, as did Li Jianjun, a freelance Chinese journalist who has publicized the allegations about Mr. Zhang and China Resources. The mine owner spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fears that publicly commenting could hurt his investments in the province. |
| Investigators also recently took away a former senior auditor for China Resources Holdings, Economic Information Daily, a newspaper controlled by the state-run Xinhua news agency, reported on Monday. The auditor, Huang Daoguo, was accused of illegally obtaining a government audit office’s report about the company, according to the newspaper. | Investigators also recently took away a former senior auditor for China Resources Holdings, Economic Information Daily, a newspaper controlled by the state-run Xinhua news agency, reported on Monday. The auditor, Huang Daoguo, was accused of illegally obtaining a government audit office’s report about the company, according to the newspaper. |
| Mr. Li, the journalist, said in an interview that Ministry of Public Security officers took Mr. Zhang away. The ministry has made no public announcement to confirm that, and Mr. Zhang said in a report in June that he was innocent. | Mr. Li, the journalist, said in an interview that Ministry of Public Security officers took Mr. Zhang away. The ministry has made no public announcement to confirm that, and Mr. Zhang said in a report in June that he was innocent. |
| “The Shanxi case has just started,” said Mr. Li, who was visiting Hong Kong. “It must continue upward. There were umbrellas protecting the corruption,” he said, using a Chinese term for official patrons of graft. | “The Shanxi case has just started,” said Mr. Li, who was visiting Hong Kong. “It must continue upward. There were umbrellas protecting the corruption,” he said, using a Chinese term for official patrons of graft. |