[Epoch Times November 28, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Xia Yu comprehensive report) Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai alleged on Weibo that former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli had disappeared after sexual assault, arousing international public concern. The outside world is not only worried about Peng Shuai’s safety, Zhang Gaoli himself and the CCP’s internal fighting involved in this case have also become a hot spot for foreign media.
The British “Financial Times” published an article on November 27 that the sexual assault accusation raised by tennis star Peng Shuai involved 75-year-old Zhang Gaoli in the international #MeToo frenzy and focused his attention on the CCP’s high-level secret alliance network, that is, the CCP’s high-level internal fighting. superior. The question Zhang Gaoli faces is whether the scandal is only about individuals and will eventually be erased from history by state censorship; or will it become the basis for a long-term attack by an opponent (in the party) to overthrow his influential network of allies.
The report said that throughout its 100-year history, the CCP has proven that it is grace and loyalty, not merits and demerits, that ultimately determine the rise and fall of officials. The doom of a senior CCP official may be a bad omen for the officials close to him.
Peng’s dilemma may inevitably be related to the CCP’s infighting
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has a record of accusing CCP officials of sexual misconduct during the official purges. According to analysis, the CCP usually does not regard officials’ sexual misconduct as the main accusation, but only after investigating their political or economic crimes will they mention sexual crimes as a factor of aggravating punishment.
An unnamed academic who is concerned about China told the Financial Times that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, factional disputes have not disappeared. People are just afraid to talk about it.
At present, Peng Shuai’s situation is unknown. “Financial Times” reported that Peng’s plight may inevitably be related to the cruel power struggle (game of power) carried out by the top level of the Chinese Communist government.
Jonathan Sullivan, director of the Institute of Chinese Policy at the University of Nottingham, told the Financial Times: “If there are’political factors’ at work, then Peng’s situation will become more complicated. The significance of public relations will diminish.”
“They (the CCP) don’t want this international public relations disaster before the (Beijing) Olympics. In any case, this may seem complicated, but in the final analysis, the stability of the regime trumps everything,” he said.
Analyst: Zhang Gaoli involved in Evergrande, Fantasia land transaction
Zhang’s permanent appointment to the Politburo, the highest political body of the Communist Party of China, was from 2012 to 2017, and he began serving as deputy prime minister in 2013.
The Financial Times reported that an analyst at Cercius Group, a Montreal-based consulting firm that specializes in China (CCP) elite politics, pointed out that Zhang Gaoli was involved in state-owned land transactions with groups such as Evergrande and Fantasia. These two companies are currently one of China’s most heavily indebted real estate groups. Both are headquartered in Shenzhen and are now struggling to survive.
Cheng Li, an expert on party leadership at the Brookings Institution, told the Financial Times that as Zhang Gaoli was promoted within the party, he was “widely considered to be under Jiang Zemin and Zeng Qinghong”.
According to Li Cheng, Zhang Gaoli married a classmate from Xiamen University. Zhang’s daughter is married to the son of Hong Kong businessman Li Xianyi.
In the “Panama Documents” exposed in April 2016, Zhang Gaoli’s son-in-law Li Shengpo was revealed to have three offshore companies and a Hong Kong ID card.
At that time, Alexa Olesen, a reporter from the International Federation of Investigative Journalists, reported that Li Shengpo, son-in-law of Zhang Gaoli, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, was a shareholder of three companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. They were Zennon Capital. Management company, Sino Reliance Networks Corporation and Glory Top Investment Co., Ltd.
The “Panama Document” document also shows that Li Shengbo once held the shares of Changxin China Network Co., Ltd. through Xinyi Network (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. Xinyi Networks (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. was formed in 2001 with Zhicaibao Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Cheung Kong, and Huixing System Co., Ltd., a Kewang company.
Expert: If Zhang Gaoli’s collapse may affect a series of CCP officials
Cercius Group stated that Zhang is a pure “Jiang”.
Victor Shih, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego, told the Financial Times that Zhang worked with Politburo member Li Hongzhong and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi for many years.
One week after the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the high level of public security adjusted, Zhao Kezhi no longer concurrently served as the party secretary of the Ministry of Public Security, and was replaced by Wang Xiaohong. Wang Xiaohong is the old ministry of Xi Jinping.
“Financial Times” reported that experts said that Zhang’s seniority means that he also promoted others, which means that his potential downfall may affect more CCP officials. Shi Zonghan believes that these officials may include Liu Kun, Minister of Finance, Wang Menghui, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Niu Yibing, deputy director of the State Cyberspace Administration of China, and Zheng Yanxiong, the newly appointed Director of the National Security Agency in Hong Kong.
Despite this, experts are still uncertain whether the accusations against Zhang are enough to bring him down. Speaking of the reaction to Peng Shuai’s social media posts, a Cercius analyst said: “In fact, Xi Jinping now has an incentive to punish Zhang if he wants to.”
At present, many of Zhang Gaoli’s old ministries have been dismissed. In September 2016, Huang Xingguo, acting secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of the Chinese Communist Party, was dismissed. Yin Hailin, the deputy mayor of Tianjin who was in charge of urban construction before Huang Xingguo, was successively promoted by Zhang Gaoli from the post of deputy director of the Tianjin Municipal Planning Bureau and eventually became the deputy mayor of Tianjin.
In Shandong officialdom, Zhang Gaoli’s two former secretaries, and Shandong’s two standing committee members Wang Min and Yan Shiyuan, have been dismissed and demoted.
Zhang Gaoli, who was dismissed, was the old department, as well as Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety and former deputy mayor of Tianjin, Zhang Quanfen, member of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and former secretary of the Hongqiao District Party Committee, and Zhang Jiaxing, former director of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Municipal People’s Congress , Wang Zhengshan, former party secretary and deputy director of Binhai New Area Central Business District, and Bloomberg, party secretary and deputy director of Binhai New Area Planning and Land Resources Administration.
Editor in charge: Sun Yun#
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