China justice minister removed, party official says

December 4, 2000
Web posted at: 10:27 PM HKT (1427 GMT)

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- A Chinese Communist Party official confirmed for the first time on Monday that former Justice Minister Gao Changli had been removed from office, suggesting he was in political trouble.

Authorities have previously insisted Gao's abrupt departure from his job last month was for health reasons, and that he had resigned.

Gao's apparent downfall has not been reported in the official Chinese state media.

A spokesman for the Communist Party Central Committee's organization department said Gao had been "removed from office."

Asked the reason, he said: "It's not clear right now."

Political analysts said the conflicting statements could indicate that authorities were still building a case against Gao and had not yet decided how to handle his dismissal. Hong Kong media have said Gao was under investigation for wrongdoing amid a nationwide crackdown on corruption.

Top Chinese officials are rarely removed from office unless they have fallen into political disfavor.

The position of justice minister is a particularly sensitive post, along with the heads of the security ministries.

The Communist Party official said Gao's duties were taken over by Zhang Fusen, Deputy General Secretary of Beijing's Communist Party Committee, pending approval by the National People's Congress (NPC), or parliament.

"Zhang Fusen was transferred to the Ministry of Justice to be in charge of day-to-day business," he said.

"In March next year, when the NPC starts its session, there will be a formal notice saying that following the approval of the NPC, Zhang Fusen was appointed justice minister and Gao Changli was removed from office."

A Justice Ministry spokesman stuck with a statement, first made on Friday, that Gao left his post for health reasons.

"He isn't the minister now," the spokesman said. "We heard he left because of health reasons. We didn't hear anything about him being dismissed."

A spokeswoman for the State Council, or cabinet, said Zhang was transferred to the Justice Ministry as Communist Party Secretary.

"There is currently no justice minister," she said.

Gao, 63, was overseeing pivotal reforms of the country's underdeveloped and corruption-ridden legal system.

After five years as vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, he was one of many reform-minded technocrats Premier Zhu Rongji brought with him to power in March, 1998.

Efforts were made to open up China's judicial system during Gao's tenure, including encouraging people to attend court hearings, televising trials and opening case files to the public.

Last month, in response to charges of rampant nepotism in the judiciary, China's top courts announced bans on families of judges from running law firms in the same jurisdiction or conducting business transactions with the court.

China is directing its anti-corruption campaign higher up the levels of Communist officialdom, although many ordinary Chinese are convinced that top leaders are untouchable.

There is also a widespread view that political intrigue within the leadership lies behind decisions to target certain individuals.

Several senior officials have been executed for corruption this year amid repeated warnings by top leaders that graft threatens the Communist Party's grip on power.

Chinese courts sentenced 14 people to death last month, including senior police and customs officials, in the first verdicts of a multi-billion dollar smuggling case centered on the southern port of Xiamen.

More death sentences are expected in the case -- the biggest corruption scandal since the Communist Party came to power in 1949 -- which has implicated close to 200 people, including national officials and the top hierarchy of the party.

Sources familiar with Gao suggest his troubles may ultimately be traced to events or connections back in Shandong, the northern province where he served in high party posts before his promotion to senior jobs in Beijing.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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