(TibetanReview.net, May17’23) – Alleging corruption and failure to carry out policies and plans of the party central leadership led by General Secretary Xi Jinping, China said May 16 that it had expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and dismissed from public office Ji Guogang, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Regional (TAR) People’s Congress.
Ji was put under investigation on Nov 16, 2022, for “serious violations of discipline and laws” by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the party’s internal disciplinary body, and the National Supervisory Commission (NSC), the highest anti-corruption agency of China.
The investigation found that Ji, 60, had lost his ideals and convictions and seriously defied the Party’s policies for the governance of Tibet in the new era and the new development philosophy, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency May 16.
It is rare for Chinese leaders in Tibet to be investigated and tried for corruption, with the party’s priority there being to fight separatism, real or imaginary, implement the Sinicization drive with gusto and ensure order and stability without any limit on the use of force.
The report said Ji was found to have capriciously abused special funds earmarked by central and local authorities and failed in faithfully implementing the CPC Central Committee’s major decisions and plans.
Ji’s acts have caused serious political damage, the CCDI and NSC statement was cited as saying.
Accusing him of being uncooperative during the investigation of his case, the statement also accused Ji of ignoring the Party Central Committee’s eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct, indulging in hedonism, and attending luxury banquets arranged by private enterprise owners over a long period.
His other violations were stated to include breaking relevant rules in using public vehicles, failing to report personal matters to authorities according to the rules and abusing his positions and power to secure jobs and posts for his relatives and others.
Besides, Ji was stated to be involved in power-for-money trade, abusing his power to seek benefits regarding project contracting and approval for others and accepting a huge amount of money and gifts in return.
While the report did not say what position, if any, he currently, held, it said Ji’s qualification as a delegate to the 10th CPC Tibet Regional Congress was also terminated as his case was handed over for judicial proceedings.
Ji, a graduate from the Changchun Institute of Geology (now Jilin University), with a doctorate in economics from Beijing Normal University (2015), was vice chairman of the People’s Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) between 2016 and 2022.
He was transferred to TAR in 2012, to become deputy director of the Development and Reform Commission of the TAR in December that year, rising to be its director the next year.