A senior security official in China who was previously purged and accused of challenging the Communist Party leadership under President Xi Jinping was on Thursday charged with “taking bribes” as well as the more unusual accusation of “illegal possessing of guns”.
Thursday’s charges against Sun Lijun, who was until April 2020 a Vice Minister of Public Security and one of the senior-most officials in charge of the police forces in China, were the latest in an already long list of serious accusations. The sudden downfall of Mr. Sun, who had only in early 2020 been dispatched by Mr. Xi to Wuhan to oversee the handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, had sparked debate about the loyalty of the police force and whether Mr. Sun was fomenting internal opposition to Mr. Xi.
Expelled from party
In September last year, Mr. Sun was expelled from the Communist Party and accused by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of "issuing groundless criticisms of the Party's policies, and spreading political rumours”. The CCDI, which had been investigating him for more than a year, said Mr. Sun "displayed extremely inflated political ambition and very poor political integrity" and had "seriously undermined the unity of the Party and endangered political security.”
Upholding party “unity” generally refers to supporting the central leadership of Mr. Xi. Mr. Sun’s purge followed the removal of another senior security official, Meng Hongwei, who was removed in 2018 at a time when he was serving as the head of Interpol. He was subsequently sentenced to 13 years in prison.
‘Illegal gun possession’
The filing of charges on Thursday paves the way for Mr. Sun’s trial. The prosecutors accused him of “illegally accepting extremely large amounts of money and properties” and “violating gun management regulations by illegally possessing guns”.
Mr. Sun was previously accused of “deserting his post” during the pandemic while supervising the COVID-19 response in Wuhan, although the details were never spelled out. He was also accused of “selling official posts, accepting a large amount of money and property, attending banquets and high-end entertainment activities, and indulging in a luxurious lifestyle for a long time.”
The CCDI under Mr. Xi has removed hundreds of security officials ostensibly for corruption, and in the process, observers have said, it has eliminated many of Mr. Xi’s political rivals and strengthened his direct control over the powerful internal security forces.
