On September 25, the official website of the Heilongjiang Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission announced that Li Bin, former deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Mudanjiang Municipal People’s Congress, had been expelled from the Party and transferred to judicial authorities.
The official report stated that Li Bin violated political discipline by privately reading illegal publications containing content that undermined the unity of the Party; violated the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation by improperly borrowing properties from service recipients and accepting banquets; violated organizational discipline by seeking benefits for others in the resettlement of transferred personnel and accepting money; violated integrity discipline by illegally accepting gifts and cash, and by demanding money in the name of helping others borrow money; violated lifestyle discipline; and took advantage of his position to seek benefits for others in equipment procurement, project fund settlement, and project contracting, illegally accepting property, and was suspected of bribery.
The report stated that Li Bin, as a leading Party cadre, had lost his ideals and beliefs, betrayed his original mission, and was disloyal to the Party; disregarded the spirit of the Central Committee’s Eight-Point Regulation, improperly borrowed properties and accepted banquets; failed to uphold the bottom line of integrity, amassed wealth, and engaged in power-for-money transactions. His actions constituted serious violations of discipline and law, and were suspected of bribery. Moreover, he did not restrain himself, stop his actions, or know when to stop even after the 18th, 19th, and 20th National Congresses of the Communist Party of China, which was serious in nature and had a bad influence, and should be dealt with severely. According to relevant provisions such as the “Disciplinary Punishment Regulations of the Communist Party of China”, the “Supervision Law of the People’s Republic of China”, and the “Regulations on the Administration of the Disciplinary Actions of Public Officials”, after research by the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission and approval by the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, it was decided to give Li Bin the punishment of expulsion from the Party; the Heilongjiang Supervision Commission shall cancel his treatment according to regulations; confiscate his illegal gains; and transfer his suspected criminal issues to the procuratorate for review and prosecution, and transfer the related property together.
Since January 1 of this year, the newly revised “Disciplinary Punishment Regulations” have been officially implemented. The “Regulations” have a total of 158 articles, with 16 new articles and 76 revised articles compared to the 2018 “Regulations”. On January 10, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission published an article titled “Learning and Implementing the Disciplinary Punishment Regulations to Promote the Formation of a High Degree of Self-Discipline in Observing Rules and Discipline”. Zhao Yubin, director of the Case Trial Office of the Inner Mongolia Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission, stated that in response to the problems found in disciplinary supervision, the “Regulations” added Article 52, which stipulates the punishment for privately reading, browsing, or listening to materials with serious political problems, and the circumstances are serious. According to the serious violations of discipline and law by Party members and cadres investigated and dealt with in recent years, some Party members and cadres brought home and privately kept and read overseas publications with serious political problems, and the circumstances were serious. Previously, Article 69 of the 2018 “Regulations” on violating political discipline should have been cited for identification. The newly revised “Regulations” have made detailed provisions for this type of situation, providing more clear and specific basis for the trial practice. In addition, Articles 69 and 70 of the “Regulations” further improve the handling and punishment clauses for Party members’ religious beliefs and personal superstitious activities, warning Party members and cadres to always keep the string of political discipline tight.
In recent years, many fallen high-ranking officials have been accused of privately possessing, reading, or carrying books and audio-visual products with serious political problems, such as Wang Xiaoguang, former member of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee and vice governor, who “was keen on reading overseas publications with serious political problems”, Liu Liange, former chairman of the Bank of China, who “privately carried prohibited books into the country”, Zhu Congjiu, former vice governor of Zhejiang, who “privately carried prohibited books into the country and read them for a long time”, Zhou Qingyu, former vice president of the China Development Bank, who “privately possessed and read books with serious political problems”, Tang Shuangning, former chairman of China Everbright Group, who “privately carried books with serious political problems into the country and read them”, Zhang Zulin, former vice governor of Yunnan, who “privately possessed and read books and audio-visual products with serious political problems”, and so on.
Similar situations are also not uncommon among officials at other levels. According to public information, officials who have been accused of “privately reading or carrying books with serious political problems” include:
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