On March 5, 2025, PLA delegates arrive at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to attend the opening of the National People's Congress. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
[People News] Recently, a friend from the mainland shared some insights into the secrets of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officialdom, mentioning Lü Wenyuan, who previously served as the commander of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Border Defence Corps. Although this information is not new, it sheds light on the extent of corruption within the CCP.
Lü Wenyuan, born in October 1954 in Dehui, Jilin Province, has held several significant positions, including political commissar of the Jilin Provincial Public Security Border Defence Corps. He became the commander of the Jilin Provincial Public Security Border Defence Corps in November 2001, then the commander of the Liaoning Provincial Public Security Border Defence Corps in March 2003, and later the commander of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Border Defence Corps in July 2004. In June 2005, he was promoted to a deputy military position, and in August of the following year, he attained the rank of Major General in the Armed Police. In April 2010, he was appointed as the commander of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Public Security Border Defence Corps.
According to my friend, Lü Wenyuan's transfer from Guangdong to Inner Mongolia was specifically to investigate him. The individual who reported him was the political commissar of the Guangdong Border Defence Corps, who had a contentious relationship with Lü. One of the allegations against Lü was that he had his wife involved in arms smuggling for profit. Interestingly, the political commissar who reported Lü was also arrested shortly after, as he himself was implicated in corruption.
Smuggling involving customs and border defence is not a recent issue in China, and a significant number of customs and border defence officials have been implicated. The Xiamen Yuanhua smuggling case from years ago was a major scandal, leading to investigations of nearly all customs officials in Xiamen and key local officials. Compared to the present day, smuggling was even more rampant ten or twenty years ago.
In 2002, reports revealed that data from the Border Defence Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security indicated that mainland China's public security border defence forces uncovered over three thousand smuggling cases the previous year. This included 155 cases of arms trafficking, with 1,375 firearms seized and a total smuggling value of 160 million yuan. However, these figures only reflect the cases that were detected, and there remains a significant number of unresolved cases.
It is evident that if the smuggling operations were sanctioned by high-ranking border defence officials, the chances of them being exposed are extremely low. Lü Wenyuan, who served in the Guangdong border defence for six years, raises questions about how many arms and goods his wife smuggled and the profits they accrued. The Chinese Communist Party has not disclosed this information to date. According to acquaintances in mainland China, the Lü family owns numerous properties in Jilin and Guangdong, and Lü Wenyuan is known for his lavish lifestyle; others must pay substantial amounts just to meet him. Nevertheless, Lü Wenyuan's conduct is not unusual within the Communist Party's ranks.
Reports suggest that the protective figure behind him was Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee at the time, who oversaw the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Following Lü Wenyuan's downfall, he opted to safeguard himself by not disclosing the identity of his backer, only admitting to certain corruption charges, thereby ensuring the safety of himself and his family, while his wife faced no repercussions.
On May 30, 2012, the Intermediate People's Court of Deyang City, Sichuan Province, convicted Lü Wenyuan of bribery, sentencing him to death with a two-year reprieve, stripping him of political rights for life, and confiscating all his personal assets. The illicit funds involved, totalling 7.988 million yuan, 13.98 million Hong Kong dollars, and 45,000 US dollars, were ordered to be confiscated and submitted to the state treasury. This clearly represents only a small fraction of his illicit earnings.
Subsequently, Lü Wenyuan served his sentence in Meizhou Prison in Sichuan Province and Longyan Prison in Fujian Province. In January 2016, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment with a two-year reprieve, while the deprivation of his political rights for life remained unchanged. Now, a decade later, will Lü Wenyuan be released from prison during his lifetime?
(Originally published by People News) △
News magazine bootstrap themes!
I like this themes, fast loading and look profesional
Thank you Carlos!
You're welcome!
Please support me with give positive rating!
Yes Sure!