Findings of graft probe into former security chief Zhou Yongkang set to be revealed

The formal announcement of the findings in the corruption investigation of retired national security chief Zhou Yongkang could come at about the time of an earlier-than-usual annual party meeting late next month.

Sources said the authorities were worried the disgrace of Zhou, who was in charge of law and order for more than a decade, would shake the public's confidence in the legal system.

Party leaders have decided to put more emphasis on the rule of law during the plenary session, said the sources, who include senior law enforcement and propaganda officials. The leaders also intend to defend the probe into the former Politburo Standing Committee member, saying the inquiry followed the party's constitution and was not driven by a political power struggle.

The party's central committee traditionally holds its annual meeting in the autumn. The most recently concluded third plenary session was last November.

But sources told the the leadership wanted to bring forward the fourth session, which normally discusses ideological development, to as early as next month or early September in response to the pressure to make Zhou's case public

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Zhou, 72, is believed to have been detained for alleged corruption since December. His whereabouts remain unknown, though family members are believed to be with him. The former national security chief is the highestranking casualty of President Xi Jinping's far-reaching campaign against corruption.