On the last day of the biggest meeting of year of the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party state-run media announced Party head Xi Jinping was taking direct control over a key law enforcement agency.
On Thursday, Beijing News published an article saying Xi was directly in charge of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC) and would focus concern on the reform of the legal system in China. The decision was announced at the 4th Plenary of the Central Committee of the 18th National Party Congress.
The report said members of the Politburo Standing Committee had been in charge of the PLAC in the past, and Xi’s direct management was an upgrade in control of the agency. The report has been widely reproduced by mainstream Chinese media with a headline such as “Management Level Enhanced, General Secretary [Xi Jinping] Directly in charge of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.”
Early in January, Xi also personally participated and led a Central PLAC meeting, the report said. At the meeting, Xi spoke harshly about government corruption, vowing to eliminate corruption and corrupt officials with “the strongest will and the strongest action.”
The report also emphasized a meeting of the Central Committee Public Security Commission (CCPSC) hosted on Oct. 17 as a prelude of the party Central Committee Meeting this week.
