Chapter 78: Thanks!
ing her feel astonished."You can do many things, right You must be very popular in school! The girls who like you must be quite a few, right" From the other side of the counter, Wang Ming used a handk...Volume 6, Chapter 78: Thank You!
In the midst of the political turmoil in southwestern China following the State Council's decision to suspend the implementation of the "Measures for Reducing State-owned Shares," another major and long-awaited development has arrived: The Central Inspection Group, the first local inspection team, is set to begin its tour in the southwest.
The timing of the arrival of the Central First Inspection Team is extremely delicate and will certainly cause a significant stir. Although central inspection teams generally avoid making a big splash when they arrive at their destinations and do not issue prior announcements, this does not prevent word from spreading about the unexpected arrival in southwestern political circles.
The moment the first inspection team arrived in the southwest after completing its inspection of Guangxi, more than 50 officials led by Provincial Party Secretary Yang Zhenliang were already lined up at the airport to greet them.
Leading the Central First Inspection Team is Zhou Guotao, the former Deputy Secretary of Jiangsu Province and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission. Zhou Guotao can be considered a unique figure in China's political arena as he was the first provincial紀委書記同時擔任省委副書記的官員，甚至被視為政壇的一種模式。普遍認為他這種典型的例子說明瞭紀委在當地影響力的提升。
Zhou Guotao is an expert at his craft, with numerous high-profile cases under his belt. He oversaw the investigation of Li Tianxiang's illegal financing case at Shen Gong Group and several other major corruption cases involving provincial-level officials.
With six listed companies behind him and ranked sixth on China's rich list, the fall of Li Tianxiang, dubbed "Shen Gong Labyrinth," along with two influential provincial officials, exemplifies Zhou Guotao's national prominence.
The arrival of an inspection team led by such a person naturally causes great commotion in southwestern political circles. No wonder everyone in the provincial committee is on high alert.
However, when they saw that the entire inspection group consisted of only four people stepping out of the airplane, many were immediately displeased. Wang Bo glanced at Guo Jiangtiao and another member of the provincial party committee, Secretary Zhou Zirong; both displayed a peculiar calmness on their faces.
Wang Bo sensed an air of indifference behind this composure.
"Today's visit emphasizes three points: truth, truth, and again, truth. Therefore, what I say today must be truthful. I hope everyone will present the situation factually and objectively in order for our team to fully understand and grasp the real state of affairs within leadership teams. Our group consists of nine members, but five are on a different route visiting De Chuan, Mian Zhou, and Suizhong counties for specific information gathering. We have received some feedback and will further assess whether there are issues in the southwest. If there are problems, we would not be here; however, our primary goal is to address these problems. For those who made minor mistakes, we adopt an attitude of education and criticism, while for a few misguided officials causing work issues, necessary measures will be taken."
In the mobilization meeting of the Central First Inspection Team in Southwest Province, Zhou Guota said to all cadres attending the provincial party committee and government's motivational meeting in the provincial party committee conference hall: "Everyone looks worried."
A few provincial-ministerial level leaders immediately instructed their subordinates to find out about the whereabouts of the other five members of the First Inspection Team, who they met with, and what was discussed. It is said that this was orchestrated by the Guo Zhou clique, and many people secretly acted on it.
Guo Jiangtiao received news indicating that a part of the reason for the arrival of the central inspection team this time was aimed at them. This is mainly because many issues with the leadership of the Guo Zhou clique have been gradually exposed along with the implementation of the State Council's policy to suspend the "Methods for Reducing National Shares." In addition to some policy issues, there are also problems related to unity in Southwest politics and exposure of internal conflicts. Furthermore, it involves inadequate supervision within the leadership team, negligence of duty, misconduct, and illegal operations.
Amidst the current cacophony in Southwest Province, criticism towards the Guo Zhou clique has become overwhelming, even drawing attention from other provinces.
The remaining half of the central inspection team is currently visiting some prefecture-level cities in Southwest Province, gradually talking to senior leaders and filling out evaluation forms. The most important aspect is evaluating the provincial party committee and government leadership teams.
Zhou Guota then held a meeting with provincial-ministerial level cadres, involving all such officials in Southwest Province, including high-ranking cadres from the Organization Department and the Discipline Inspection Commission. At the meeting, they left the contact information of the central inspection team's stay in Southwest Province, including phone numbers, mailboxes, email addresses, and locations for appeals. This marks a public announcement of the arrival of the inspection team in Southwest Province. Following this, local media will not officially report on the inspection team.
However, relying solely on phones, mailboxes, and appeal sites provided by local governments, it is unlikely that the inspection team will obtain valuable leads. The clever aspect lies in casting a wide net and establishing extensive contacts. Based on the inspection team's "Four Possibilities" authority, they can directly understand situations from members of municipal, prefectural, provincial-level city, and provincial government leadership teams. Inspection team activities are dispersed; with both open inspections and covert investigations, problems that have leads will be pursued.
Wang Bo was sitting on a sofa outside the provincial party committee reception hall when an inspection team member invited him to go up to the fifth floor to a room used by Zhou Guota for conversations with provincial-ministerial level officials.
Zhou Guota, holding a cigarette and having waited for some time, looked at Wang Bo. Seeing the thick documents in Zhou Guota's hand, Wang Bo knew that Zhou was preparing his final attack.
"Wang Bo, it has been quite some time since we last met. It’s been many years," Zhou Guota did not hurry to talk with "the principal" Wang Bo; instead, he picked up the covered bowl of tea beside him and sipped a little while looking at him intently: "Mr. Old Wang seems still robust, have you moved out of the compound Do you feel comfortable in your new place How is your health It's been more than a year since I last visited Mr. Old."
"Yes, I spoke with my parents just a few days ago; they are doing well. They've planted some wild vegetables and flowers in the backyard and enjoy keeping fish." Wang Bo knew Zhou Guota; both of them were quite prominent among deputy-minister level officials, being around forty years old and holding such important positions naturally drew attention.
A sense of nostalgia creeps in again. There is some connection between the Zhou Guota family and the Wang family, as they were acquainted while both were based in Beijing. During holidays, Zhou Guota would also come to the Wang estate for New Year greetings or casual visits.
However, Zhou Guota does not belong to the Wang lineage but instead represents a significant faction within the city. His political career can be described as illustrious; it reached such heights that even members of the third generation of high-ranking officials like Wang Bo would look up to him with admiration. At a young age, he was already serving as the mayor of an important coastal city, while at that time, Wang Bo was still a deputy-level cadre relying on external support.
When Wang Bo was transferred to Xia Hai, news had spread that Zhou Guota had taken up the position of Deputy Governor of Jiangsu Province and concurrently served as Secretary of Discipline Inspection. In those dim days for Wang Bo, this groundbreaking appointment seemed even more unattainable. At one point, Wang Bo could also stand face-to-face with a person like Zhou Guota, as the市委書記of a provincial capital city.
The journey here is indeed thought-provoking.
After exchanging pleasantries and reminiscing about old times in Beijing, Zhou Guota finally said, "I have been holding back from contacting you for quite some time. I believe you are aware of the reason. Currently, our main focus is on investigating officials like Guo Jiangtiao and Zhou Zirong, as well as your provincial leadership team. I know about your issues with Guo Jiangtiao; it's said that there has always been a conflict between the two of you. That article criticizing the drawbacks of state-owned share reduction was signed by you for approval. You, my friend, have quite the daring spirit!"
After a brief pause, Zhou Guota continued, "We do possess substantial evidence but it's not comprehensive. There are good points and bad ones, each with its own theories. It is generally believed that Guo Jiangtiao has significant issues; he tends to create divisions in disputes, strongly interferes with provincial enterprises, detaches himself from the masses, takes excessive responsibility for certain matters, creates 'performance projects' or 'image projects', and boasts excessively without sufficient environmental protection measures. He promotes people who are ill-suited, lacks a complete deliberation system, and his decision-making isn't democratic enough... I would like to hear your opinion on Guo Jiangtiao. What do you think of this official Or can you provide us with any information that we currently don’t have I want to hear the truth."
Zhou Guota looked at Wang Bo.
Wang Bo returned Zhou Guota's gaze as he lit another cigarette, squinting but never taking his eyes off any subtle changes in Wang Bo’s expression.
A moment later, Wang Bo pondered and said, "An ordinary person will never cause controversy; only those who aren't ordinary would. That is exactly what Secretary Guo Jiangtiao is like. Nowadays, most criticisms of him stem from his nepotism and insufficient democratic practices in decision-making, leading to political instability and unease among the people. These issues certainly exist but we must not overlook Guo Jiangtiao's intrinsic principles and motives; he truly saw problems with the current political environment in Rongcheng. His actions might seem radical, but we cannot dismiss his positive impact on provincial development just because of this. People are never perfect; there were indeed shortcomings in Secretary Guo’s work that even went astray at times. However, his efforts and contributions to his job must be recognized. It would be wrong to completely condemn him."
After Wang Bo finished speaking, Zhou Guota stared deeply into his eyes, closed the material he was holding, thought for a while, then nodded, "We will consider your viewpoint further."
The inspection work led by the Central First Provincial Inspection Team headed by Zhou Guota yielded significant results.
Some vice-ministerial officials were found to be超標用車 and住房, engaging in blind comparison and exaggeration. Issues such as the violation of regulations by spouses and children of cadres running businesses were exposed and dealt with during inspection tours.
We gained insight into serious problems that harm public interests in areas like education, healthcare, food and drug safety, production safety, social security, and judicial processes, as well as in corporate restructuring, land requisitioning, urban demolition, and environmental protection. We proposed targeted rectification suggestions to urge localities to address these issues seriously.
We also recommended that the central authorities further investigate Provincial Party Committee Deputy Secretary Zhou Zirong for suspected receipt of red envelopes [bribes] and improper project operation, and admonished Provincial Party Committee Deputy Secretary Gu Jiangtiao for his inadequate rules in decision-making processes and insufficient unity within the leadership team.
Since then, the political factions associated with Gu and Zhou in southwestern politics have collapsed.
The conversation between Wang Bo and Zhou Guotaoh at a hotel became known to many people. As a result, more than one perception was formed about Wang Bo among the ministerial-level cadres of Sichuan Province.
Wang Bo was ascending the steps into the conference venue when he spotted Zhou Guotaoh, who had become embroiled in controversy.
Zhou Guotaoh seemed to have aged visibly; his temples were white and his back hunched. Yet there remained an air of pride and sharpness about him as he stood alone in a windbreaker.
Upon seeing Wang Bo, Zhou Guotaoh approached and extended his hand proactively. They shook hands at the entrance where the conference hall was buzzing with commotion. Zhou Guotaoh's complex yet poignant emotions were evident when he said to Wang Bo, "Party Secretary Wang... thank you."
The coldness of human relations after someone’s fall from grace and the cruel reality of survival-of-the-fittest seem less weighty than these two words.owever, I have to mention Su Can; yes, I’ve mentioned him several times already today. He is among the five students who didn't make any mistakes on this question. Well done and congratulations for yo...