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Corruption investigations against high-ranking Chinese propaganda official Zhang Jianchun

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A high-ranking Chinese propaganda official was investigated by the country’s main anti-corruption agency.

The Central Disciplinary Commission and the National Supervisory Commission are investigating 59-year-old Zhang Jianchun, deputy head of the Central Advertising Department, on suspicion of “serious disciplinary and legal violations” – the usual euphemism for corruption or political misconduct.

The investigation comes at a critical time for the Chinese Communist Party, which is on the verge of long delayed third plenary sessiontraditionally an event to unveil the economic strategy for the next five to ten years.

It is unusual for incumbent senior officials of the Publicity Department (formerly the Propaganda Department) to be investigated, and Zhang is the first to be caught in the country’s comprehensive anti-corruption crackdown since the National Party Congress in 2022.

On Friday evening, the department responsible for spreading the party’s messages and overseeing China’s heavily restricted media held a meeting to discuss Zhang’s alleged misconduct.

A statement on the party’s website said participants “unanimously decided to stand behind the party’s decision and fully support the investigation.”

The meeting stressed the importance of maintaining party discipline and promoting clean government, and referred to the party’s commitment to fully implement “the spirit” of party leader Xi Jinping’s instructions and “resolutely crack down on corruption.”

The ministry also called on officials to give party discipline “an even more prominent position.”

Born in 1965 in the eastern province of Shandong, Zhang spent decades within the party system, serving in organizational roles in the local governments of Shandong and Beijing.

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China is airing a four-part series on anti-corruption on prime-time television

China is airing a four-part series on anti-corruption on prime-time television

In 2020, he was appointed deputy head of the central public relations department. In April, he made several public appearances, including at a meeting with US Patent and trademark Office manager Kathi Vidal.

As head of the Cyberspace Administration of China, he played a key role in implementing Xi’s cybersecurity policy and became known outside China primarily through his meetings with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

In his heyday, before he was abruptly removed from his post in 2016, he wielded enormous power over the access of 730 million Chinese internet users.

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