Xi lashes out at corrupt leaders in Communist Party

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who recently acquired the status of a "core leader" of the ruling Communist Party, has lashed out at corruption and political conspiracies within the party, saying "like natural ecology, political ecology is also vulnerable to pollution".
Speaking at the recently held plenary meeting of the party which designated him as "core leader", meaning the highest ranking leader on par with party founder Mao Zedong, Xi also questioned the loyalty and discipline of the some members of the Communist Party, including senior leaders.
He said political life in the party has been good in general terms, but there were also prominent problems which needed urgent attention.

The four-day key policy body meeting ended here on October 27 was attended by about 400 party officials, who approved norms of political life in the Party under current conditions, and the regulation on intra-Party supervision.
The full text of the two documents, as well as Xi's explanation, were published today.
In his address, Xi, 63, pointed out the questionable faith and loyalty of some party members, including senior ones, state- run Xinhua news agency reported.

He cited a number of faults among such members, including: lax discipline, detachment from the people, arbitrariness and inaction, acts of individualism, factionalism, money worshipping and violations linked to formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance.

Xi who conducted the biggest crackdown against corruption since he took over as the President, CPC General Secretary and head of the military in 2013, said nepotism and election fraud have endured while some party officials sold positions of power and bartered promotions.
Abuse of power, corruption as well as legal and disciplinary violations have been spreading, he said.
In particular, a handful of senior party officials, overcome by their political cravings and lust for power, have resorted to political conspiracies by working with ostensible obedience, while forming cliques to pursue selfish interests, he said.
These acts have severely eroded the party's ethical foundations, undermined its unity, and impaired the intra- Party political environment and the party's public image, Xi said.

He cited disgraced leaders like Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou and Ling Jihua, who were convicted corruption and abuse power as examples of such behaviour.
To rectify these problems, the CPC would have to cultivate a clean and positive political ecology, Xi said.
"Like natural ecology, political ecology is also vulnerable to pollution," he said. "Once problems emerge, we have to pay a huge price to restore it to its original state", he said.