Zhou ‘spied on President Xi’

BEIJING — China’s investigation into former security chief Zhou Yongkang found evidence that he ordered unauthorised spying on top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, according to two people familiar with the probe.

The investigation showed that Zhou used phone taps and other methods to gather information on the family assets, private lives and political stances of China’s leaders, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.

Mr Xi’s sweeping anti-graft effort has helped him solidify his grip on power since he became Communist Party chief in late 2012, making him the strongest leader since Deng Xiaoping. He has frequently warned that the campaign is necessary to preserve the legitimacy of the party.

Zhou, who in 2012 retired from the Politburo Standing Committee, the top leadership group in the party, is the highest-ranking individual of more than 100,000 officials to be accused in an anti-corruption drive.

Zhou leaked party and national secrets, state news agency Xinhua reported in December, citing a party statement announcing his expulsion. No details of the state secrets charges against him have been announced.

The probe into the 72-year-old, who was also charged on April 3 with bribery and abuse of power, began with the approval of Mr Xi and retired party leader Jiang Zemin, according to a second person, who asked not to be identified.

Prosecutors and the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection did not respond to faxed requests for comment about the case. Zhou was arrested and expelled from the party in December and cannot be reached for comment. No defence lawyer has been named for Zhou.

Meanwhile, a top Chinese newspaper yesterday said that poor family upbringing was to blame for some of the most serious corruption cases China is facing and officials should learn from the examples of heroic figures from the earliest days of Communist rule.

Besides Zhou, one of the most senior figures being investigated so far is Ling Jihua, who was an aide to Mr Xi’s predecessor, Mr Hu Jintao.

The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, said in a commentary that those two cases showed the “special characteristic” of there being a general problem of corruption in their families.

“It was exactly because upbringing was not rigorous and the family style was unhealthy that allowed their homes to become exchanges of power and money, converting their families into a community of (special) interests,” it said.

Those following the old Chinese maxim of everyone in the family taking advantage of the promotion of one member to enrich themselves would find that the upshot was that they would “all suffer together in jail”, the newspaper said.

A person’s upbringing was crucial to their future morals, it said, pointing to the fine examples set by people such as Chen Yun, a contemporary of Mao Zedong and one of Communist China’s most senior figures in the early austere years.

Chen had very strict requirements for his children and led by example, making sure he always finished food set before him and ensuring that water was not wasted, the newspaper said. AGENCIES