Investigations into former security chief Zhou Yongkang began in earnest today. Zhou, one of the country's most powerful figures of the last decade, is suspected of "serious disciplinary violations," the usual euphemism for corruption.
The 71-year-old politician was a member of the paramount Politburo Standing Committee before falling from grace, and the investigations beginning today constitute the highest-level corruption probe in the Chinese Communist Party since it came to power in 1949.
President Xi Jinping's anti-graft campaign has been a central tenet of his administration, and he memorably promised to pursue "tigers" — high-ranking officials — instead of merely low-ranking, local officials who dabbled in corruption. In ordering the investigation, Xi has broken with the unwritten understanding that members of the Standing Committee were not to be investigated after retirement.
Ironically, Zhou's "tiger hunt" begins on International Tiger Day, an occaison dedicated to preserving rather than eradicating the endangered species. Not many tears will be shed if Zhou's particular breed of predator goes extinct, though — unlike the real thing, whose skin China admitted earlier this month it permits to be openly traded.
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