Officials, public see Party decision as proof all are equal before the law

Chinese officials and the public voiced strong support on Saturday for the decisions to expel Zhou Yongkang from the Party and to investigate and arrest him.

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Friday decided to expel Zhou, a former member of the bureau's Standing Committee, from the Party and transfer the details of his suspected crimes to judicial organs to be handled in accordance with the law.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate also decided to open an investigation into Zhou's alleged crimes and to arrest him.

Officials and the public nationwide said the decisions show a strong will to manage the Party strictly and to punish corruption.

"It's a big victory in the anti-corruption drive," said Bai Nianbo, a Party disciplinary inspection committee official in Zibo, a city in Shandong province.

Zhao Qifeng, a station manager at the Huanxiling oil extraction plant in Liaoning province, said, "I'm shocked by Zhou's serious violations of Party discipline and his suspected crimes.

Zhao said the decisions taken demonstrate the Party's strong resolve to manage its affairs strictly.

Yang Jianguo, Party secretary of Yuanzu, a village in the township of Huoshizhai in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, said: "We fully support the wise decisions of the Party Central Committee. The decisions make us more confident of the anti-corruption drive."

Everyone is equal

Officials and the public also said the decisions show that the Party is adhering to the principle that everyone is equal before the law and nothing is off-limits in fighting corruption.

Huang Huiqiang, deputy secretary of the Party disciplinary inspection committee in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, said, "There is no restricted area in fighting corruption, no privilege in obeying the law, and no exceptions in carrying out discipline."

The decisions have sent a signal that strict management of the Party is not a slogan and there are no exceptions in punishing corruption, Huang added.

Zhang Fuping, a business owner in Chongqing, said: "I have paid close attention to Zhou's case. ... Those damaging the public interest will be punished by the law, no matter how high their position is or how wide their power is. We welcome the CPC Central Committee's anti-corruption efforts."

Yin Xiaohu, deputy director of the Institute of Law under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the decisions reflect the principle of equality before the law.

Gao Bo, deputy secretary-general of the Clean Government Studies Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Zhou's case shows that the anti-corruption campaign has no limits and its impact will be far-reaching.

Safeguarding interests

Officials and the public also said the decisions show that the Party persists in the belief of safeguarding the public's fundamental interests.

Qolu, a herdsman in Taipusi Banner, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, said the decisions are a response to people's expectations and have public support.

Liu Hanlong, chairman of Jiangxi Chamber of Commerce in Chongqing, said, "We hate officials abusing power for personal gain, which damages the market environment."

The decisions taken by the Party's Central Committee have created a better legal environment for development of the private sector, Liu added.

Wang Zechu, an adviser to the Guangdong provincial government, said safeguarding people's fundamental interests requires effective public supervision.

A commentary in People's Daily on Sunday said that positive public feedback shows "the Party's handling of Zhou's case has won the hearts of Party members and the masses, and is an active response to people's expectations as well as a proclamation of governing the Party strictly."

In the final analysis, corruption is abuse of power, an erosion of people's interests and blasphemy against the Party's mission to serve the people, the commentary said.

"The people are direct victims of corrupt practices, and they wholeheartedly support severe punishment of corruption," it added.

"Representing the people's interests and accepting the people's supervision, the Party will not tolerate corruption, and will check and punish any violation of the law and discipline."

Describing corruption as "posing the greatest harm to the Party", the commentary stressed that the campaign against graft cannot be won in a single battle, and the Party "will never cover up its own diseases, nor set a limit on its anti-graft goal".

"As a Party with more than 86 million members, and governing a large country with a population of 1.3 billion for a long time, we have the abilities to manage the Party well and constantly purify, improve, reform and heighten ourselves," it adds.