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Explainer | The inspectors keeping China’s corrupt officials up at night
The graft-buster’s inspection teams have become important tools for maintaining discipline under Xi Jinping
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Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
Chinese central government inspectors have been sent to investigate the activities of lower-level officials since imperial times but the practice has become a particularly pointed anti-corruption weapon on the watch of President Xi Jinping.
These inspections are known as xunshi, and they have been a hallmark of Xi’s sweeping anti-graft campaign since he came to power more than a decade ago.
They have also become a cause of sleepless nights for many officials. Countless officials and cadres, including dozens of heads of provincial areas and state ministries, have been brought down as a result of such disciplinary checks.
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In the latest round of the campaign, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), China’s top anti-corruption body, has stationed 16 disciplinary inspection teams in various regions. One of those areas is the central province of Shanxi, where former governor Jin Xiangjun soon became the target of an investigation.
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How do discipline inspections work?
The CCDI used to rely on tip-offs from the public and disgraced officials for leads. Since 2013, the inspection teams have largely generated their own.
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