China's Former Top Security Chief Has Been Arrested For Corruption And Leaking State Secrets

Zhou Yongkang has been under investigation since July. Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters

China Arrests Ex-Security Chief Zhou Yongkang -- BBC

Ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang, the most senior Chinese official to be investigated for corruption, has been arrested and expelled from the Communist Party, state media report.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate, China's top prosecuting body, said it had opened a formal probe against him.

Before he retired two years ago, Mr Zhou was the head of China's vast internal security apparatus.

Many of his former associates and relatives also face corruption probes.

Since coming to power, Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched a high-profile campaign to weed out corruption among party and government officials.

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More News On China's Former Top Security Chief Being Arrested For Corruption And Leaking State Secrets

China’s Communist leaders expel former security czar over corruption allegations -- Washington Post
China Arrests Ex-Security Chief, Zhou Yongkang, in Corruption Case -- New York Times
China arrests former security chief Zhou Yongkang -- Channel News Asia/AFP
Former top Chinese official arrested in corruption probe -- CNN
China arrests top official on sex and corruption charges -- USA Today
China Arrests Ex-Security Chief For Corruption, Leaking Secrets -- VOA/Reuters
China Party Expels Former Security Chief for Leaks and Graft -- Bloomberg
China expels Zhou Yongkang from Communist party -- The Guardian
Top Chinese official expelled from Communist Party -- Deutsche Welle
Zhou Yongkang Expelled from the Chinese Communist Party: Report -- Epoch Times
Corruption must be punished, discipline must be strictly upheld: People's Daily -- Xinhuanet

The Diminishing Role Of The Chinese Military In Foreign Policy

Paramilitary policemen walk past a wall bearing a banner for the APEC Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting in Beijing, November 5, 2014. Reuters

With Beijing-Tokyo Agreement, China’s Military Takes Another Hit -- Wall Street Journal

The surprise news out of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Friday that China and Japan had decided to move closer to dialogue on disputed islands in the East China Sea is a sign that diplomacy may not be dead in the region after all.

Nearly everyone involved is likely to be cheered by the development, with one notable exception: the People’s Liberation Army.

China’s military is arguably the biggest beneficiary of the territorial tensions that have hovered over the East and South China Seas these past two years, with China’s navy and air force acting as the vanguard in confrontations with Japanese and other powers. Media coverage of their exploits (in Chinese) has provided the PLA with ample justification for added budgetary outlays and an argument that it should be an indispensable in policy discussions about the region

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My Comment: The civilian political leadership in China is asserting it's control over the military .... and they are being rough about it.

China's Anti-Corruption Drive Snares It's Biggest Target So Far

Xi Jinping's Anticorruption In China Drive Snares A Tiger -- Peter Ford, Christian Science Monitor

Once seen as untouchable, Zhou Yongkang, a former Politburo security czar, is under investigation. Chinese President Xi's far-reaching anticorruption drive is targeting political opponents and sending an uncompromising message to Communist Party the rank and file.

Beijing — Dropping the biggest bombshell to date in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anticorruption campaign, the ruling Communist Party announced Tuesday that one of its most senior elder statesmen is being investigated for suspected “serious disciplinary violation.”

Zhou Yongkang, who was head of China’s all-powerful security apparatus and one of the party’s top nine leaders until 2012, has not been seen in public for months. If tried and convicted he would be the most senior official found guilty of corruption since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949.

The news of his detention had long been anticipated. Since Mr. Zhou disappeared at the end of last year, reportedly held under house arrest, scores of his relatives, former aides, and political allies have been detained in a campaign to destroy his political support network.

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More News On China's Anti-Corruption Drive Snaring It's Biggest Target So Far

China Says Former Security Chief Is Being Investigated for Corruption -- New York Times
Zhou Yongkang: China investigates ex-security chief -- BBC
No safe haven in China's corruption crackdown: People's Daily -- Reuters
Former Security Head Zhou Yongkang Investigated in China -- Epoch Times
Investigation of former security chief bold move by China’s president to cement power -- Irish Times
Xi Jinping's purge claims the biggest scalp yet: Zhou Yongkang -- Sydney Morning Herald
Who is Zhou Yongkang, and why did China decide to launch an investigation on him? -- Willliam Wan, Washington Post

My Comment: He was one of the untouchables .... no more now. There are big changes happening in China right now .... the old guard are being swept away, and everyone else is being told to "toe the Party line" or else.