What’s new: Zheng Xuelin, a retired senior official of China’s top court, is being investigated by the Communist Party’s top graft buster as part of an ongoing campaign to stamp out corruption in the country’s judicial system.
Zheng, former head of a division of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) that hears civil cases, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law,” a common euphemism for corruption, according to a one-line statement published Thursday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
The statement came a year after the 61-year-old retired from his court post. Zheng is the first senior SPC official to be investigated for graft since the party’s 20th National Congress in October last year.
One former colleague told Caixin that Zheng impressed them as an affable, low-key legal expert. “We were surprised to see the news of his fall from grace,” the colleague said.
The background: Zheng holds a doctorate from the China University of Political Science and Law, majoring in civil procedure law.
He worked for decades at the supreme court, where he served as head of a division in charge of hearing environmental resource cases and as head of a case-filing chamber. In 2019, he was appointed to lead an SPC civil division that handles disputes including over marriage and family, human rights, and labor and property contracts.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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