A top cop shows two sessions in Beijing that he’s still in the game
Fu Zhenghua, second-in-command of China’s police force, raises eyebrows by appearing at premier’s press conference
One of the most eye-catching scenes of Premier Li Keqiang’s two-hour press conference on Wednesday actually took place a couple of minutes before it started – when one of the nation’s most high-profile policemen unexpectedly came into the main hall and sat quietly near the press corps.
The appearance of Fu Zhenghua, the second-in-command of the world’s largest police force, flanked by security personnel in suits and ties, immediately raised eyebrows.
Fu was the top police officer in a task force that investigated his former boss, security tsar Zhou Yongkang .
Zhou was jailed for life in June for taking bribes, abuse of power and intentionally leaking state secrets. He was the highest ranking official in China to receive such a heavy sentence since the era of the Cultural Revolution.
Fu has been relatively quiet in recent months but he returned to the limelight at the end of January, when Guo Wengui, a mainland tycoon in exile who was close to disgraced top spy Ma Jian, openly laid accusations against Fu.
There were even rumours that Fu was taken away from the Great Hall of the People by anti-graft investigators during this year’s twin sessions.
