Zhou Yongkang case set to expose the scale of the rot in China's elite politics
Minxin Pei expects the ex-security chief to be arrested soon, a move sure to boost Xi's standing
Less than 18 months after becoming general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping is poised to cage the biggest political "tiger" - a corrupt top official - in the history of the People's Republic.
Although rumours of the imminent fall of former internal security chief Zhou Yongkang have been swirling for months, many observers remained unsure whether Xi would prosecute Zhou and thus break the party's long-established unwritten rule of immunity for sitting or retired members of the Politburo Standing Committee.
But doubts about Zhou's fate have now been dispelled by a recent flurry of uncensored news stories in the Chinese media that revealed shocking details of corruption involving Zhou's family and former subordinates.
It has been reported that the authorities recently searched the homes of Zhou's two brothers. Though these stories have yet to implicate Zhou directly, it will only be a matter of time before the Chinese government officially charges him with corruption.
Whispered reports are even more lurid. Zhou is said to have plotted to murder his first wife, and there are rumours that at the height of last year's scandal involving disgraced former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai , he attempted to assassinate Xi in the leadership compound at Zhongnanhai.
Based on what the Chinese press has disclosed thus far, it is clear that the Zhou case will be the ugliest and most sensational scandal involving a senior party leader that the country has ever seen.
