China's Trapped Transition_ The Limits of Developmental Autocracy - Minxin Pei [129]
Fujian Province (six cases reported)—Six officials in Minhe county, including the heads of the land and construction bureaus, were prosecuted for protecting a local mafia group in 2002. Six officials in Shunchang county—including the chief of the party’s politics and law committee, a deputy party secretary, and a deputy chief of police—were prosecuted in 2002 for protecting a local mafia group. An unspecified number of officials in Zhangzhou city, including cadres in law enforcement agencies, were prosecuted in 2001 for protecting a local mafia group. In Wuping county, three officials, including a deputy county magistrate and a deputy chairman of the county’s People’s Congress, were prosecuted in 2001 for collectively accepting bribes. In Xiamen city, the infamous Yuanhua case led to the arrest and convictions of 279 local officials in 2001, including the city’s party secretary and deputy mayor. In Fuzhou, seventeen city officials—including the party secretary of the politics and law committee, a deputy mayor, the party boss of a local city, a local chief prosecutor, and a vice president of a local court—provided protection to a local crime boss, Chen Kai, in exchange for large bribes. The case was uncovered in 2003.
Guangxi Autonomous Region (four cases reported)—The provincial government’s chairman, deputy chairman, and a deputy chairman of the People’s Congress were prosecuted in 2002 for taking bribes. In Liuzhou city, the party secretary, police chief, and deputy police chief were prosecuted for protecting illegal gambling. In Nandan county, seven officials—including the party secretary, the magistrate, and a deputy party secretary—were convicted of protecting mafia-operated mines in 2002. In Ningming county, two of the county’s party chiefs and two county magistrates were arrested for corruption in the 1990s.
Heilongjiang Province (three cases reported)—The provincial government itself could qualify as a mafia state. In 2004, the following were removed from office or prosecuted for collective corruption: a former provincial governor; a sitting deputy governor; the head of the provincial people’s political consultative conference, who had served as the provincial CCP organization chief and was an alternate member of the CCP’s 15th Central Committee; the president and vice president of the provincial high court; the chief of the provincial procuratorate; the head of the provincial personnel department; and the head of the provincial CCP secretariat. In Suihua city, the party secretary, Ma De, was convicted of selling government positions to more than 260 people in 2002. About half the division-level cadres in the ten counties in Suihua were implicated in the scandal. In Qitai city, a deputy party secretary, who was also the secretary of the politics and law committee, and an unspecified number of officials were convicted in 2002 for protecting organized crime.
Shanxi Province (three cases reported)—The party secretary of Changzhi county was prosecuted in 1999 for selling government offices to 432 people. In Gaoping county, seven officials—including the deputy mayor, police chief, and the party’s organization chief—were prosecuted in 2001 for protecting a violent criminal gang. In Fanci county, both the party secretary and the mayor were prosecuted in 2002 for protecting criminals who owned local mines.
Jilin Province (three cases reported)—In Jingyu county, the party secretary was prosecuted in 2003 for selling government positions to more than 160 people. In Helong city, an unspecified number of officials were prosecuted for protecting a local mafia group.