英文摘要 |
Within 1 year and 8 months of Xi Jinping becoming the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, 42 senior officials at deputy positions above the provincial and ministerial levels have been prosecuted for corruption. This study investigated Xi’s purpose for actively combating corruption, whether shared guanxi networks existed among the prosecuted officials, and the political influences generated by Xi’s investigation into these networks. By adopting a relational model and an inductive approach, this study found that the purposes of Xi’s anticorruption campaign were to gain public support, to eliminate dissidents, and to establish his power. In the new Gang of Four, only Ling Jihua has escaped prosecution; however, 5 of his allies have been prosecuted, and 15 members in Zhou Yongkang’s group have been prosecuted. In the future, the anticorruption campaign may be expanded or replaced by the principle of the rule of law. Xi’s strong anticorruption measures have led to a division among the ruling elite. However, whether the split can facilitate the transformation of the communist regime in China depends on whether Xi’s anticorruption measures require the support of civil society, the possibility of which is currently low. Xi’s prosecution of 18 local officials has effectively intimidated local governments; therefore, the problem of local governments frequently resisting the macro-control policies of the central government is likely to be solved. |