Profile of 63 'tigers' caught in anti-graft drive

Since China stepped up its anti-corruption campaign, 43 officials above vice provincial or ministerial levels have faced investigation in 2014. This is sharp increase compared to 2013, in which only 16 senior officials were probed.[Special coverage]

And the drive shows no sign of slowing down in 2015 after three more senior officials were nabbed in the first month of the year.

After taking the helm of the Party at the 18th Party Congress in November 2012, President Xi Jinping has vowed to fight corruption, targeting both high-ranking "tigers" and lowly "flies".

By January 2015, as many as 63 officials above vice provincial or ministerial levels have been placed under investigation over the last two years.

Chinese Caixin financial magazine ran a report earlier this month that took a detailed look at the 63 "tigers", including their age, ranking, post, and what is to be expected from the "tiger-hunting" in the coming days.

Here's a rundown on the "tigers" caught in the anti-graft drive, courtesy of Caixin magazine.

Age - How old are the tigers?

Forty one out of the 63 investigated officials, or over 60 percent of them, were born between 1950 and 1960. And 15 were born after 1960 and 7 before 1950. Twenty seven of them are aged between 58 and 60.

The oldest one is Zhou Yongkang, former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, who was 71 when he was probed last year. The youngest is Ji Wenlin, former vice governor of Hainan province, who was born in July, 1966.

Rankings - How senior are the "tigers"?

There is one national level official, Zhou and three deputy national level officials, Xu Caihou, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, Ling Jihua and Su Rong, both of whom were vice chairmen of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee.

Seven of them were provincial or ministerial level officials and 52 were of vice provincial or ministerial levels.

Posts - What did the "tigers" do?

Twelve out of the 63 investigated officials were from organizations and departments of central committee of the Communist Party or central government. Five of them were senior military officers and three were senior executives of State-owned enterprises. The rest 43 were from 23 provinces.

CPPCC leaders at national and provincial levels were the most "dangerous posts" as two vice chairmen of CPPCC National Committee and 11 chairmen and vice chairmen of CPPCC provincial Committees were probed.

Retired officials were no longer safe anymore as six senior retied officials were also investigated; among them Zhou Yongkang and Xu Caihou.

Zhao Shaolin, former secretary-general of the provincial Party committee of east Jiangsu province, was already retired for eight years when he was investigated last year.

Places - Where are the "tigers" from?

Shanxi province is the region worst hit by the anti-corruption campaign as 7 out of the 63 tigers were from the area. Sichuan, Jiangxi and Jiangsu province each takes up three.

In only seven regions have officials above vice provincial levels so far evaded graft busters' microscope. They are the Beijing and Shanghai municipalities, Jilin and Fujian provinces and the Tibet, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang autonomous regions.

More to be expected in the military field

It is already a common consensus that nobody is off-limits in China's anti-corruption drive, which is clearly illustrated by the fact that the campaign has already expanded into the military, an area once considered "sensitive".

In a rare move last month, China released a list of 16 senior military officers who were investigated over corruption allegations in 2014, which was seen by observers as a sign of authorities' efforts to institutionalize the anti-corruption campaign and make it more visible to the public.

Seventeen senior military officers have faced probe since 2014, including one general (Xu Caihou), 4 lieutenant generals and 10 major generals. They covered the areas of central military departments, local military commands, different categories of troops and military colleges.

But the release of news about military officers is relatively slower compared to the investigation of non-military officials. For example, according to the official announcement of the probe of Xu Caihou in June 2014, his investigation had already started three months ago in March.