Amid anti-corruption drive, China’s sports regulator says ‘political stance’ is top priority for cadres

China’s top sports regulator has pledged to place “political stance” as the top priority in selecting cadres amid a sweeping anti-corruption drive in the sector.

During a conference on personnel work in the country’s sports system on Tuesday, Gao Zhidan, the Communist Party chief and head of the General Administration of Sport of China, said “political stance” and “correcting deviations” should be prioritised, according to a meeting readout published on the administration’s website on the same day.

“[We] have to adhere to a problem-oriented approach and effectively enhance the sense of urgency, responsibility and mission in organisational and personnel work [in the sports system],” Gao said, according to the readout.

He also stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of the administration’s leadership, and proposed “strict management and supervision” to improve the quality of cadres in how they are selected and managed to ensure that officials and the public are more satisfied, the readout said.

Also attending were heads of nationwide sports organisations and representatives from anti-corruption watchdogs, who discussed ways to improve cadres and personnel work, according to the readout.

The call to make “political building” the top priority came as the country’s top anti-corruption body continued to probe China’s sports sector, an inquiry that began soon after Xi Jinping in March secured an unprecedented third term as China’s president and the Communist Party completed a twice-a-decade leadership transition.

Five months into the anti-corruption drive, several leading Chinese sports officials have been brought down as the investigation has expanded beyond football – long a notorious arena of corruption.

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Over the past week, three high-profile sports figures have either been placed under investigation or punished after being caught up in the intensifying anti-corruption campaign.

They include the chairman of football’s Chinese Super League, Liu Jun, who was taken away on Tuesday by authorities for investigation, according to state media outlet Beijing Youth Daily.

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Ni Huizhong, the party chief for the winter sports administrative centre and former chief of China’s Winter Olympics delegation, was placed under investigation on Saturday for suspected violations of discipline and law – the usual euphemism for corruption.

Li Yaguang, the former head coach of the Sydney Olympics silver medal-winning China women’s basketball team, was expelled from the Communist Party on Friday after the anti-graft body in Chongqing filed a corruption case against him. Li retired in 2018.

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In April, the former vice-president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and deputy head of the General Administration of Sport of China, Du Zhaocai, was also singled out in a probe for suspected violations of discipline and law.

So far this year, more than a dozen sports figures have been snared in Xi’s decade-old anti-corruption drive, including the head of the CFA, Chen Xuyuan, and Li Tie, the former men’s national team coach and former English Premier League player.

South China Morning Post