Fall of governor adds to hopes for end of high-level corruption

Su Shulin. File photo

At 11:30 pm on Wednesday, the last night of the weeklong National Day holiday, the nation's top disciplinary watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, published on its website that Su Shulin, governor of Southeast China's Fujian province, was under investigation for suspected discipline violations. Comments:

Su is the first sitting governor to be investigated for corruption since the top leadership launched the anti-graft campaign in 2012. His case once again proves that the top leadership has set no upper limit on the number of high level officials that are being hunted for corruption. That's a smart move because it gives people hope that the rampant corruption in the country might one day be curbed and rooted out.

eastday.com, Oct 8

Su was promoted extraordinarily faster than his colleagues and there is a rumor he is the son-in-law of a senior official. He tried to deny this once in a news conference but failed. Will the disciplinary watchdog investigate his family background, which might uncover evidence of the corruption of some higher official?

Beijing News, Oct 8

The news release about Su mentioned "disciplinary violations" without mentioning "illegal activities", which is common when talking about those under investigation. That does not mean Su is not involved in illegal activities.

sohu.com, Oct 8

There used to be an unspoken hidden rule that if a senior official appeared in official newspaper or TV reports, it was a signal that he or she was safe and wouldn't be put under disciplinary investigation. Su's case has broken the rule as he fell seven days after having last appeared on official TV. With more such hidden rules broken, the damaged political ecology will hopefully be repaired.

Bi Hanfeng, commentator, via micro blog, Oct 8

Many have focused on Su's being governor and a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, while few have noted his working experiences as a leading manager in Daqing oilfield, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. Many senior officials now under investigation for corruption worked there.

Capital News, a WeChat analyzer, Oct 8