The rise and fall of Zhou Yongkang: From rural Jiangsu to the corridors of power
For nearly a decade, the burly son of a poor family in rural Jiangsu was one of the most powerful men in China, but now he is just a detainee at the mercy of the party’s anti-graft agency.
For nearly a decade, the burly son of a poor family in rural Jiangsu was one of the most powerful men in China.
Today, the 71-year-old Zhou Yongkang is no longer an esteemed leader but a detainee of the party's anti-graft agency.
The abrupt turn came in December when Zhou was detained with his wife, Jia Xiaoye, in Beijing, sources said earlier.
Top leaders of the Communist Party had reached a consensus last August to purge their former high-ranking comrade, who was once a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and the country's security tsar.
The details of the allegations against him remain unclear, but Zhou could become the highest-profile trophy for President Xi Jinping, who is making his name as a fearless - some would say ruthless - crusader against corruption, willing to break an unspoken party taboo in punishing one of the elite for economic or social crimes.