In Beijing, jittery government officials and mid-level managers have been reaching out to a small pool of seasoned criminal lawyers.
“Usually it comes after a colleague or a close associate has been rounded up, and they want to be at least able to explain things the graft fighters may find suspicious,” said a veteran criminal lawyer in Beijing, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“That is something we hadn’t seen until these past few years.”
As the list of those rounded up in China’s years-long anti-corruption probes becomes longer, a growing number of mid-level officials across the country have started to consider the once unthinkable – what if they are next?
The anxiety has become more distinct since President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive entered its second decade – with no signs of slowing down.
“As long as the soil and conditions for corruption exist, the anti-corruption struggle cannot stop for a moment. We must always sound the charge,” Xi declared at the 20th party congress in 2022.
