New Party chief named in Shanxi shake-up

Strong central push to clean up coal-rich province

A shake-up among officialdom in North China's Shanxi province, where a score of officials have been named in corruption probes since early this year, reached a new stage on Monday, when a new Party chief of the coal-rich province was appointed.

Wang Rulin, who previously headed Northeast China's Jilin Province, was transferred to the post of Shanxi Party chief, replacing Yuan Chunqing. Yuan, who led the province from 2010, was re-assigned a post as deputy head of the Central Rural Work Leading Group.

The appointment was announced at a conference attended by Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, who noted that the political environment in Shanxi is problematic and warned of grave situation in the fight against graft.

"The central leadership is paying close attention to the makeup of Shanxi's leadership and has decided to make major adjustments to the provincial Party committee," he said.

An article published Monday on the official website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said that a Party chief is responsible for building a clean government, and that those who fail should be considered incompetent.

The shake-up in local leadership started in February shortly after a CCDI inspection group to Shanxi revealed abuses of power as well as unhealthy tendencies in the province's personnel systems.

Wang Zhanyang, a professor with the Central Institute of Socialism, said that the coal-rich province has had long-standing graft problems, including collusion between officials and businessmen.

According to The Beijing News, the corruption probe has also seen several businessmen in the coal and steel sectors come under investigation.

Wang Zhanyang said the probed officials seem to be collectively involved in corruption cases, and there could be more officials working with them.

Several officials under investigation have been found to have had previous political connections. Some had held the same post successively, while others were mentor-protégé pairs.

Analysts believe that the top priority of the province's new Party chief will be combating corruption, and Wang's scant connection to the region may prove to be an advantage.

"Whether a local official can do good work mainly depends on the level of support from the central leadership. Wang's appointment at this critical juncture proves he has won recognition from the highest level … His primary task is to implement the central leadership's anti-corruption campaign. With such support, this won't be a big problem," said Qi Xingfa, an associate professor with the School of Humanities and Social Science at East China Normal University.

However, Wang Zhanyang warned against the difficulties. "Corruption in Shanxi has eroded the whole system from top officials to those at the grass-roots level. Right now the focus is still on senior officials. After the overhaul of the Party committee, we may expect to see similar overhaul at all levels, which could help bring about a more just society," he said.

Meanwhile, Qi also noted that the anti-graft campaign in energy-rich Shanxi could be just a prelude for further investigations into more senior officials in the energy sector.