Ex-security tsar Zhou Yongkang's fate to be decided at party plenum
Central Committee will consider action against Zhou Yongkang during party's fourth plenum
The Communist Party's powerful Central Committee will decide whether to expel and prosecute former security tsar Zhou Yongkang when the party plenum gets under way on Monday.
In an online article yesterday, the said Zhou's fate would be decided by the committee's 200 or so members at its three-day fourth plenum.
"Arrangements including whether or not to expel Zhou from the Communist Party and transfer the case to judicial authorities are likely to be made during the fourth plenum," the article said. The item was not published in print.
If prosecuted, Zhou would be the most senior leader to face charges for economic crimes.
The party's anti-graft watchdog announced more than two months ago that it was investigating Zhou for corruption. Observers are watching closely to see if General Secretary Xi Jinping and the party leadership will take the next step to press charges against Zhou.
Reuters yesterday quoted sources as saying that Zhou would be expelled from the party when the graft watchdog presented findings from its corruption investigation at the plenum. The Central Committee would then decide whether to hand Zhou to prosecutors.
The also said the plenum would complete formalities to expel and hand over to prosecutors the cases of Zhou's top aides - former Sichuan deputy party chief Li Chuncheng , former deputy public security minister Li Dongsheng, former chief regulator of state-owned enterprises Jiang Jiemin , and former China National Petroleum Corp deputy manager Wang Yongchun .
