Ling probe receives widespread approval

The corruption investigation into senior official Ling Jihua has received widespread approval in the Chinese media as well as on social networks, which experts say could boost the public's confidence in the Party's leadership and its anti-graft campaign.

Ling, head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has been put under investigation for "suspected serious disciplinary violation," the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced on Monday.

The probe was a hot topic on social media platforms on Tuesday, with related articles being viewed more than 130 million times and 52,000 related comments posted on Sina Weibo as of press time. A number of Chinese media outlets also published articles about Ling's family.

In 2012, Ling was moved from his position as director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, which was a turning point in his political career, thepaper.cn reported. It has been widely speculated that the move was connected to his son's death. The young man was killed when a Ferrari he was in crashed in Beijing in March 2012, caixin.com reported.

Ling Zhengce, Ling's brother and former vice chairman of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was put under investigation in June.

The media has alleged that several of Ling's other brothers have also been probed.

The public has been paying a lot of attention to the anti-graft campaign since it was announced at the 18th CPC National Congress in November 2012 as a non-corrupt government can benefit ordinary people, Wang Jingbo, an anti-corruption expert at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times.

"The public has brought their political enthusiasm into the campaign. Supporting investigations into senior officials, like Ling shows they have trust to the Party's leadership," Wang noted.

After the investigation into former security chief and former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Zhou Yongkang was officially announced in July, there was concern among the public that the anti-graft campaign might stall after reaching a climax, but the probe into Ling has renewed public confidence in the central leadership's determination to continue its anti-graft drive, Wang said.

The PLA Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, vowed on December 18 that there will be no sanctuary for the corrupt in the battle against graft as "The anti-corruption campaign has already touched senior 'tigers' like Zhou Yongkang and Xu Caihou. Who is left untouchable?"

Zhou was handed over to prosecutors early this month. Xu Caihou, former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, was expelled from the CPC in June and transferred to prosecutors in October, accused of corruption.

"The investigation into Ling also warns other officials not to count on luck as the so-called selective anti-graft campaign does not exist," Wang claimed.