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Catching Tigers and Flies 

Last week ChinaFile released this interactive graphic (link below video) as a visual guide to Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption in the PRC, including both ‘Tigers’ (Party and governmental officials of Sub-Provincial/Ministerial positions and above & military officers hold a rank of Major General and above) and ‘Flies’ (Lower level officials and individuals).

From the accompanying article:

Xi’s campaign to rid the ranks of Chinese officialdom of the corruption that has both hampered and defined it for decades has receded from the headlines. But the work of the Party’s corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), has continued, according to its own most recent figures, sweeping up some 2 million officials of both high rank and low.

Taking down the likes of Lu Wei, former Vice-Mayor of Beijing and Deputy Head of the Party’s Propaganda Department, Xi Jinping projects the image of a strict, just ruler, and encourages his citizens to believe that nobody is above the law. In openly tackling corruption at every level, many have argued that Xi has succeeded in restoring public faith in the Party, saved the country a great deal in funds that would otherwise have been misused, and helped to fix the inefficiencies exacerbated by a corrupt system.

More cynical onlookers might point out that an anti-corruption campaign is an ideal way to get rid of any troublemakers or supporters of potential usurpers in the Party, consolidating Xi’s power, and in fact a number of journalists have compared the campaign to a “purge” similar to those that Stalin and Mao conducted against their suspected adversaries within their own governments. 

Gifted journalist and filmaker Max Duncan asked me if I would like to create the music for his documentary 'Down From the Mountains'. I said yes please. The film follows three siblings from the Yi ethnic group who are left to fend for themselves in the isolated mountains of southwest China.

http://www.chinafile.com/multimedia/video/down-mountains

Thank you to Daniel Harding for engineering and Martha Rose for her atmospheric violin.

To see more of Max's work please visit www.maxduncan.com.

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