China Reins In New Security Boss's Clout

Incoming Communist Party leadership appoints Meng Jiangzhu as head of domestic security, overseeing police, prosecutors, judges, spies, but downgrades the position. The WSJ's Jeremy Page explains why the Bo Xilai affair contributed to the downgrade.

Bo Xilai Affair Led to Fears the Domestic Spy Chief Had Grown Too Powerful, Leading Party Elite to Downgrade Position

BEIJING—In a sign of how the Bo Xilai affair has shaped the thinking of China's rulers, the incoming Communist Party leadership appointed a new domestic security chief but downgraded the position.

The move could strengthen the rule of law after a decade in which the security forces amassed vast new powers and resources, and party insiders say it is a direct consequence of the scandal surrounding Mr. Bo, the former party highflier whose wife was convicted in August of murdering a British businessman.

Mr. Bo was thought by many in the party to be a potential candidate for the internal security post, a position in which he could have challenged the authority of new party leader Xi Jinping as overseer of a security apparatus that some believe has become so powerful it acts almost like a state-within-a-state.

Analysts say the move appears designed to prevent any one leader, like Mr. Bo, from using the security apparatus for political ends.

The state-run Xinhua news agency said Meng Jiangzhu, the public security minister, had been appointed to head the party's Politics and Law Commission. The shadowy body oversees police, prosecutors, judges and spies and controls an annual budget larger even than the declared yearly military spending estimated at more than $100 billion for 2012. 

The body's previous head, Zhou Yongkang, was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee—the top governing body—and an active supporter of Mr. Bo. But his post was one of two that were cut from the top leadership body when its seven new members were unveiled on Thursday.

Mr. Meng was promoted on Thursday only as far as the Politburo—the party's top 25 leaders—meaning he is outranked by every member of the new Standing Committee. He is also likely to serve only one five-year term before retiring, as he is already 65 years old.

Party insiders and analysts say outgoing and retired leaders agreed to downgrade the post because they feared that Mr. Zhou had accumulated excessive powers over the last five years, and that those powers could have been transferred to Mr. Bo.

Some of those people also say that the move was designed to strengthen China's fledgling legal system, which has been undermined in the last five years by the rapid expansion of police powers, and predominance of police officers in local branches of the Politics and Law Commission.

Although most party leaders are still wary of a truly independent judiciary, which they fear could challenge their legitimacy, many do accept that a stronger legal system is needed to help enhance property rights, and empower citizens to deal with local corruption and abuse of power, political insiders and analysts say.

In a further indication of the priorities of the new leadership, Mr. Xi issued another unusually blunt warning about corruption over the weekend, saying the government could face a similar fate to others around the world that have been toppled by popular uprisings in recent years.

Although he did not specifically mention last year's Arab Spring, it was the first time he had publicly drawn even an indirect parallel between China's situation and the uprisings in North Africa and Middle East last year.

Mr. Xi, who took over from Hu Jintao as party chief on Thursday, issued the warning in a speech at the first meeting of the new Politburo, which was given prominent coverage across state-controlled media on Monday.

"Matter has to rot first, then worms can breed," Mr. Xi was quoted as saying, an apparent reference to protests triggered by perceived corruption. "In recent years, some countries have stored up problems for a long time leading to public anger and outcry, civil unrest and regime collapse—and corruption has been a very important factor in this," he continued.

"A large number of facts tell us that the worse corruption becomes, the final outcome can only be the end of the party and the end of the state! We must be vigilant!"

Mr. Xi was echoing the words of Mr. Hu, who said in his final speech as party chief that corruption could cause the collapse of the party and the state.

Analysts say the party elite tried to demonstrate its commitment to fighting corruption last week by appointing Wang Qishan, the former vice premier in charge of finance who has a reputation as a problem-solver, to lead the party's anticorruption body.

But neither Mr. Hu nor Mr. Xi have provided details about how the party plans to tackle the problem.

"In recent years, within our party there have been serious cases of discipline violation, the nature of which has been vile, with extremely bad political effects, causing people to be shocked," Mr. Xi said, without naming any specific incidents.

He urged officials at all levels to obey anticorruption regulations and to pay more attention to preventing relatives and associates from abusing their power.

State media also reported that Mr. Xi had paid tribute to his predecessor for stepping down last week as head of the Central Military Commission, which controls the armed forces, making Mr. Hu the first Chinese Communist leader to give up all formal power at the same time without bloodshed or political unrest.

Mr. Hu's "important decision fully embodies his profound thinking of the overall development of the party, country and military," Xinhua quoted Mr. Xi as saying on Friday. "The decision also embodies his exemplary conduct and nobility of character."

Some party insiders believe Mr. Hu will have less political influence over the new leadership than his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, who clung on to his military post for two years after retiring as party chief in 2002. Others believe Mr. Hu has won support in the party for helping to institutionalize the succession process, a factor that could help him secure promotion of allies to the Standing Committee in 2017, when five of the seven members of the new leadership body will have to retire.

Write to Jeremy Page at jeremy.page@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared November 20, 2012, on page A11 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: China Reins In New Security Boss's Clout.

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