Probe into local big shot highlights positive anti-corruption interaction

THE SICHUAN COMMISSION for Discipline Inspection and the Sichuan Supervisory Commission announced on Monday that they are investigating Yan Chunfeng, deputy Party secretary of Guangan, for allegedly serious violations of Party discipline and the law. Beijing News comments:

The investigation was sparked after Yan inadvertently found himself embroiled in scandal after a woman threatened to get a kindergarten teacher dismissed for criticizing her daughter for being naughty. A snapshot of a WeChat group chat shows that she said to the teacher: “You must apologize to my daughter, or I will let your boss explain to Secretary Yan!”

Yan said that the woman involved in the WeChat spat is his ex-wife, and that he had no knowledge of her quarrel with the teacher. However, the incident prompted people to find out whether he is such a local big shot. And with the details of the so-called “daughter being accepted by a famous school”, the demand for an official investigation was further strengthened.

This is an example of the official disciplinary departments working with the public to fight corruption together. Actually, for the past several years, there have been many similar cases, and they follow the same pattern: Someone posts a clue about a corrupt official on social media, the disciplinary department responds positively and follows that clue to dig deeper into the case, and finally the corrupt official gets his or her deserved penalty.

In the whole process, the key point lies in the local discipline inspection department taking note of the claims and responds with a timely investigation. The earlier they respond to the reports, the easier it is for them to gain public trust.

It should be noted that not all the posted “clues” lead to corruption. And some of these posted clues are false. But what the local disciplinary departments need to do is investigate swiftly, so that the public gets to know the truth in time.