It doesn't look good for ex-comrade Chen Liangyu, former politburo member and Shanghai party secretary. Yesterday he was formally kicked out of the party. He's no longer Mr secretary, not even a comrade anymore, just a commoner standing accused of an impressive list of crimes. (China Daily: “Former Shanghai Party chief sacked from CPC, gov't posts”)
Chen funneled money from Shanghai's social security fund into private investment projects; used his authority to approve projects and investments – at a price; let his family members profit handsomely from his corrupt practices, while at the same time courting up to 11 mistresses. Ex-comrade Chen truly had a busy life. A life that is now in mortal danger.
His trial will no doubt be held in the coming months, certainly before the 17th party congress is convened in October. The crimes of which he stands accused certainly merit the death penalty, but it would be very unusual if it would be carried out on a former politburo member. Still, his former politburo colleagues might see the need of setting an example – killing the chicken to scare the monkeys – to show that anybody, never mind how high up in the hierarchy, will be prosecuted if found guilty of corruption. As general secretary Hu Jintao has said on many occasions, the fight against corruption is a life and death struggle for the party. It's also a life and death struggle for those convicted of corruption. The next months will show whether Chen Liangyu will win his last struggle to spend the rest of his life in prison and later on under house arrest or if he will get the ultimate corruption award: the executioner's bullet.
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