China News Weekly reporter/Zhou Qunfeng
Published in the 1075th issue of "China News Weekly" magazine on January 2, 2023
On December 17, the public account "Ban Yue Tan" issued an article mentioning that since the beginning of this year, the discipline inspection and supervision organs have investigated and dealt with a small number of official discipline violation cases involving "escape resignation (resignation)".
The investigators pointed out that some of them did not really want to resign, but changed "early retirement" to "early nesting" to continue the "remaining power of power"; Those who are on the job will not receive transfer fees; some are "leaving the job with illness", worried that something will happen to the outside world, and hope to "resign".
According to relevant case studies, some officials have different reasons for voluntarily ending their official careers (resigning or retiring early), and some even proposed to give up their retirement benefits.
Behind this series of abnormal behaviors, there are often serious corruption problems hidden.
Mao Zhaohui, executive director of the China Supervision Society and director of the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Policy Research Center of Renmin University of China, told China News Weekly that there are various reasons for officials to leave their posts early, such as their own ability problems, some personality reasons, some physical illnesses, and some for better development etc.
"Those who resign early or retire early to pave the way for corruption are just one of them and cannot be generalized. However, the harmfulness of this invisible variant of corruption is worthy of attention." He said.
Li Huochun, deputy director of the No. 8 Inspection and Investigation Office of the Hangzhou Disciplinary Commission and Supervisory Committee, said that some leading cadres have changed the traditional model of "paying money and doing things with one hand" and attempting to evade supervision and legal sanctions by delaying payment. Essentially, no matter whether you leave your job or not, as long as you commit corruption, you will be held accountable.”
Repeated "escape resignation"
"China News Weekly" searched the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission and found that since 2022, "escape-style resignation" has been repeatedly mentioned in the reports of officials under investigation.
The so-called "fleeing resignation" refers to some party members and cadres who think that everything will be fine after leaving office and forget the past. Evasion of party discipline and state law investigation.
Chuanguan News once quoted a cadre who has been engaged in the work of discipline inspection and supervision for many years as saying that "escape-style resignation" is generally divided into two scenarios: one is that there are violations of discipline and law during the job, and an attempt is made to evade party discipline and state laws by resigning early and retiring early. The other is to take a post or part-time job in an enterprise within the original business jurisdiction after resignation or retirement (retirement), and use the "revolving door" of politics and business to gain benefits.
Judging from the statement in the relevant circular, some officials resigned before retirement, with the purpose of evading punishment, and they hoped to achieve a "safe landing" through early retirement.
In November 2022, the website of the National Supervisory Commission of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection stated that Shen Shuhuan, former member of the Party Committee and assistant to the general manager of China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation Ningbo Branch, was investigated.
Shen Shuhuan was born in April 1979 in Haining, Zhejiang.
According to the report, Shen Shuhuan vainly tried to evade the organization's investigation by resigning, and alienated the state's policy tools to support foreign trade and economic cooperation into "private weapons" to satisfy personal greed, resulting in the loss of state-owned assets and seriously affecting the image of China's credit insurance policy financial institutions.
After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, they did not hold back and did not stop. After the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, they did not show awe and restraint. They tried to "resign" after realizing that a possible crime had occurred. This is a typical "escape-style resignation" and is of a bad nature.
It is not uncommon to try to escape the bad luck of being investigated by resigning.
In June 2022, Jia Leng, former director of the Inspection Work Office of the Agricultural Development Bank of China, was investigated.
According to the report, Jia Leng was living in the business, relying on the enterprise to eat the enterprise, approaching retirement "escape-style resignation", trying to evade discipline and law punishment, and continue to amass money wantonly; incorrect performance of duties at work will eventually cause heavy losses and adverse effects on credit funds Has primary leadership responsibility.
In February 2022, Jiang Chuanbao, the former general manager of the Credit Management Department of Jiangxi Rural Credit Cooperative Union, was investigated.
In 2019, Jiang Chuanbao, who was 58 years old at the time, voluntarily resigned.
The Jiangxi Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection reported that Jiang Chuanbao issued loans in violation of regulations, arranged for many people to hold huge stock funds for him, tried his best to evade the investigation of the organization, and resigned in an "escape style" when he was approaching retirement; Indulge in pushing cups and changing cups, and form a "eating and drinking circle" and "playing circle" with the boss and businessman.
In other cases, some officials retired early in order to receive high salaries from related companies.
On July 4, 2022, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission notified the case of Zhang Huayu, the former deputy secretary of the party committee and vice president of China Everbright Bank, and characterized the case as a typical case of "early nesting" and "escape resignation" corruption.
Zhang Huayu was born in October 1958.
Since February 2001, he has worked in China Everbright Bank. In September 2018, on the eve of his 60th birthday, he voluntarily resigned.
According to the report, Zhang Huayu used his authority to arrange dozens of relatives such as his son, son-in-law, and younger brother, as well as children of related persons, to work in the Everbright system, seeking benefits for many people in terms of job promotion and job transfer, and damaging the political ecology of the Everbright system.
Resign on the eve of retirement, and receive a high salary in an enterprise that has business connections with the original post after resignation.
In May 2022, Huang Xi, the former general manager of the institutional business department of China Construction Bank, was investigated.
Huang Xi has worked in CCB for 32 years.
In July 2018, Huang Xi, who was less than 54 years old at the time, resigned.
One month later, she joined the real estate company Tahoe Group as the executive vice president, in charge of the treasury department.
In May 2022, Huang Xi was investigated, and in November of the same year, he was expelled from the party.
According to the report, Huang Xi "realized his power" after leaving his job and received high "settlement allowances" and salaries from credit client companies.
"Ban Yue Tan" quoted a county-level cadre in the central region as a source of information and reported that some officials who worked in the financial and banking systems even left their posts before they were 40 years old. Gain benefits through relationships, influence, etc.
Article 27 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Sanctions for Public Officials stipulates: "Where a retired public official commits an illegal act before or after retirement, no governmental sanction shall be given, but a case may be filed for investigation; Public officials who have violated the law during the performance of their duties shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph." It can be seen that resignation does not mean "safe landing".
Since 2022, the central level has repeatedly expressed its determination to punish "escape-style resignation".
On March 24, 2022, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission published an article by the 13th Review and Investigation Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and State Supervision Commission, saying that review and investigation are an important part of the discipline inspection and supervision work. Shareholders, shadow companies, political and business revolving doors, early nesting, and escape-style resignation, etc.
On October 17, 2022, the Party's 20th National Congress News Center held its second press conference.
When talking about the measures and effectiveness of strengthening the management and supervision of leading cadres, Xu Qifang, deputy director of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, introduced that since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, combined with the inspection of the central government, 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and more than 200 central Carry out special inspections on the selection and appointment of personnel covering all units; carry out "three supersessions and two chaos", "naked officials" issues, certificates for going abroad (territory) for private purposes, "revolving door" "escaping resignation" and illegal arrangements for financial units under central management Relatives are engaged in the system and other special rectification.
Why voluntarily give up retirement benefits?
Some officials went into business after resigning early, and they also have the intention of laundering the stolen money for themselves.
The case of Jiang Tingxian, the former director of the Tourism Bureau of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing City, is a typical case.
"China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News" once reported Jiang Tingxian's case.
In September 2016, Jiang Tingxian, Party Secretary and Director of Chongqing Jiulongpo District Tourism Bureau, who was only 51 years old at the time, applied for early retirement.
The reason why he made this decision was related to his previous invitation with a boss.
In the summer of that year, Zhu, the general manager of an aluminum company in Chongqing, invited Jiang Tingxian to drink tea.
At that time, Zhu was planning a recycled aluminum project, and wanted to ask Jiang Tingxian to do the preparatory work, and promised him an annual salary of 500,000 yuan and 6% of the shares.
"At that time, I thought that he gave me good conditions. If I start the project and invest the stolen money I received before, maybe I will make a fortune in my later years." Jiang Tingxian said.
After resigning, Jiang Tingxian also became the legal representative of Chongqing Wanhuagu Ecological Tourism Development Co., Ltd.
According to Tianyan Check, Chongqing Wanhua Valley Eco-tourism Development Co., Ltd. was established in November 2014. It is an enterprise mainly engaged in the management of public facilities.
The registered capital of the enterprise is 22.6 million yuan, exceeding 91% of the counterparts in Chongqing.
After Jiang Tingxian became his own boss, he not only used the bribes he received while on the job and the "benefit money" cashed out after leaving the job for business operations, but also tried to launder the stolen money through business operations.
Among them, part of the bribe was the "favor fee" that Jiang Tingxian agreed with the businessman boss during his tenure, and it will be cashed after Jiang Tingxian retires. Therefore, this case is also a typical "option-style corruption" case.
"Option-style corruption" refers to the use of power by leading cadres to benefit others when they are in office, and the two parties negotiate to cash in some form of "return" after the public official leaves or retires, similar to "option trading" in business.
In April 2022, Jiang Tingxian was transferred to the Jiulongpo District People's Procuratorate for review and prosecution on suspicion of bribery and abuse of power.
In other cases, some officials even voluntarily offered to give up their retirement benefits after applying for early retirement.
The case of Qiu Ping, deputy inspector of the Hangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau disclosed by Hangzhou TV's "Integrity and Economics" column is a typical case.
In 2012, at the age of 54, Qiu Ping applied for early retirement.
In 2018, he took the initiative to ask the organization to give up his retirement benefits.
In January 2003, Qiu Ping was also promoted to be the head of the Internet Surveillance Division of the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau.
When Qiu Ping appeared on the scene, he said that he only thought about how to make the Internet Surveillance Team bigger, so that he would have power. "I am just like a warlord, thinking that only a territory can have power."
In September 2004, the Public Information Network Security Supervision Detachment of Hangzhou Public Security Bureau officially changed its name to the Public Information Network Security Supervision Branch, with Qiu Ping as the director of the branch.
Qiu Ping has close contacts with the heads of many companies, including Qiu Moumou, the head of an information technology company in Hangzhou, and the two are still called brothers and sisters.
"I have a lot of loyalty in the world. If my friends and brothers ask me to help, I will help. Qiu Moumou's company is a company under the key supervision of our Internet Security Bureau, and we must focus on the content on the server. Once found Her server contained harmful information, so I called her to notify her and asked her to delete it so that she would not be investigated." Qiu Ping said.
In order to express his gratitude, Qiu Moumou proposed to give Qiu Ping benefits many times, but Qiu Ping always replied, "We will talk about it after retirement."
In 2005, Qiu Moumou asked Qiu Ping to "work" in her company and offered her an annual salary of 1 million.
In 2012, Qiu Ping went through the formalities of early retirement, and worked as a "legal consultant" in Qiu XX's company in the second month.
Qiu Ping said: "I don't have to work, and I don't have an office. She sends me money every month, and I take it as a matter of course."
From November 2017 to May 2021, Qiu Ping also received benefits from Sun Moumou, the boss of an Internet company, in the form of "receiving salary and year-end bonus", totaling more than 740,000 yuan.
The investigation found that since his retirement, Qiu Ping has successively accepted invitations from a Hangzhou Testing Technology Co., Ltd., a Zhebao Cultural Group Co., Ltd., and a Hangzhou Network Technology Co., Ltd. to serve as security legal consultants, receiving "consultation fees" of more than 3.2 million yuan.
In May 2021, during the education and rectification of the national political and legal teams, Qiu Ping was investigated.
In May 2022, Qiu Ping was sentenced to five years in prison for accepting bribes and fined 400,000 yuan, and the stolen money was confiscated and turned over to the state treasury.
It is worth noting that since 2022, relevant documents have been issued at the central and local levels to address issues related to resigned or retired public officials.
For example, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Party Construction of Retired Cadres in the New Era". In terms of strict discipline and rules, it clearly stated that retired cadres and party members, especially those who have held leadership positions, should strictly abide by the relevant discipline rules. , shall not use the original power or position influence to seek benefits for themselves and others.
The Beijing Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection issued the "Work Plan on Carrying out Special Rectification of Violations and Disciplinary Issues of Resigned Public Officials", proposing to comprehensively carry out special rectification of resigned public officials' violations of laws and discipline.
Hangzhou City has promulgated the "Implementation Rules on Standardizing the Clean and Honest Political Work of Leading Cadres and Further Promoting the Establishment of Pro-Qing Political and Commercial Relations (Trial)", which clearly stipulates that leading cadres are strictly prohibited from resigning from public office or using the influence of their original positions to seek personal gain within a specified period after retirement. Establish and improve the list of restrictions on the employment behavior of leading cadres after resigning from public office (retirement) and the report commitment system, and strengthen the guidance, supervision and inspection of the implementation of this provision by each unit.
How to solve "departure corruption"?
Many interviewees believe that there is still a series of work to be done to prevent the problem of "leaving office corruption" among problematic officials.
A discipline inspection cadre in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province told China News Weekly that it is indeed difficult to supervise the corruption of some public officials, especially after some people leave or retire and enter family-owned enterprises, including classmates, comrades-in-arms, and fellow villagers. It is even more difficult to supervise the enterprises that have been established.
In response to such problems, relevant departments should establish full-cycle management files for leading cadres, especially for tracking, monitoring and evaluating their "management" after resignation or retirement.
Yang Shaohua, a professor at the Jinggangshan Cadre Academy in China, suggested that after the resignation of party members and leading cadres, their original powers will still have an impact or function within a certain range and within a certain period of time. Make "hard levers", hold on to the "red line of employment" after officials resign and resign, and industries and companies that cannot enter are firmly prohibited from entering.
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China mentioned: resolutely investigate and deal with corruption that intertwines political and economic issues, resolutely prevent leading cadres from becoming spokespersons and agents of interest groups and powerful groups, and resolutely deal with the problems of government-business collusion that destroys the political ecology and the environment for economic development.
Mao Zhaohui said that the phenomenon of some officials becoming agents of powerful groups after leaving their posts early or retiring is worthy of vigilance.
This is a more premeditated new type of corruption, with obvious characteristics of organized corruption. They cooperate with outsiders, the nature is worse, and it is more difficult to investigate and deal with.
As early as 2013, the Organization Department of the Central Committee issued the "Opinions on Further Regulating Party and Government Leading Cadres' Part-time Employment (Occupation) in Enterprises" (referred to as "Opinions"), which stipulates that: the current position and the non-current position but has not handled the retirement (retirement) The party and government leading cadres who have completed the formalities are not allowed to take a part-time job (job) in the enterprise; within three years after resigning from public office or retiring (retired), they are not allowed to take a part-time job (job) in the area under the jurisdiction of their original position and within the scope of business, and they are not allowed to engage in work related to the enterprise. The previous position governed the business-related for-profit activities.
The "Opinions" make it clear that if a leading cadre wants to work in an enterprise outside the jurisdiction of his original position and business scope within three years after retirement, the cadre himself must report to the party committee (party group) of the original unit in advance, and the company will issue a reason for the appointment Explanatory materials, the party committee (party group) of the unit where the unit is located shall review and obtain the approval of the corresponding organization (personnel) department according to the management authority of cadres before they can take office.
The "Opinions" also make it clear that those who resign from public office or take a part-time job (job) in an enterprise three years after retirement (retirement) should report to the party committee (party group) of their original unit in person, and the company that intends to work part-time (job) will issue a part-time job (job) Employment) reason explanation materials, the party committee (party group) of the unit where it is located shall approve it according to the regulations and file it with the corresponding organization (personnel) department in accordance with the management authority of cadres.
Mao Zhaohui believes that the "Opinions" stipulates relevant regulations on various situations after leading cadres resign or retire (retired), but in reality, many places do not strictly implement these regulations.
After such personnel leave their posts, when they go to deal with the original unit, there is no requirement that they need to report to the original unit in advance.
Mao Zhaohui told China News Weekly that in order to properly manage the problem of "resignation corruption", we need to start from many aspects.
First of all, control the exit.
Such personnel should do a good job of auditing.
Now the relevant regulations are clear that those who are under review and investigation cannot resign, but there must also be clear regulations on whether some people who report clues related to problems can resign.
While organizing personnel and other departments to do a good job of auditing such personnel, the discipline inspection and supervision organs must also supervise and review again.
If during the review process, it is found that they are closely related to certain units, they must be investigated and verified immediately.
Secondly, departments such as discipline inspection and supervision, organization and personnel should establish a big data monitoring system for such personnel.
Fully register their job titles, reward and punishment records, etc. when they are on the job. After the establishment of this big data screening and analysis system, it is convenient to supervise their follow-up behavior and find problems in a timely manner.
Again, do a good job of extended supervision.
After such personnel leave their posts, the procuratorial and supervisory organs must do a good job in follow-up work, conduct periodic return visits and checks on them, and remind and deal with problems as soon as possible.
The "Civil Servant Law" stipulates that if a civil servant resigns from public office or retires, civil servants who were formerly leading members, civil servants with leadership positions above the county level and above, within three years of resignation, and other civil servants within two years of resignation, shall not be hired by enterprises directly related to their original work or other services. Those who work in a profit-making organization are not allowed to engage in profit-making activities directly related to the original work.
Where a civil servant resigns from public office or has a violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph after retiring, the competent department of civil servants at the same level as his original agency shall order him to make corrections within a time limit; Order the receiving unit to remove the person, and according to the severity of the circumstances, impose a fine of not less than one time but not more than five times the illegal income of the punished person on the receiving unit.
Mao Zhaohui believes that the above-mentioned provisions of the "Civil Servant Law" are relatively light in punishment, only requiring such personnel to correct relevant behaviors or confiscate their illegal income, and a fine of less than five times the intensity is difficult to serve as a deterrent.
Moreover, it has not been coordinated with the provisions of the "Opinions", nor has it clarified how to supervise the behavior of civil servants engaged in relevant profit-making activities after two or three years of resignation.
Therefore, it is necessary to revise and improve the current Civil Service Law.
"China News Weekly" Issue 1, 2023
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