VOA Article: Is the Youth League Undergoing a Cleanup?

VOA published an article based on a news report from Hong Kong’s Apple Daily about some recent actions affecting the China Youth League. On April 6, a newly appointed Deputy Secretary General for Guangdong Province was taken away for investigation on the first day he was on the job. The official was said to have a China Youth League background but the official media has not yet confirmed that news. According to Apple Daily, in June and September of 2014, a former secretary of a Municipal Party Committee in the City of Guangzhou and a Vice Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were charged with corruption. On March 23, a report stated that the Central Discipline Inspection Commission was investigating another official who was the Secretary of a Municipal Party Committee in the City of Zhuhai. All these officials were said to have had a background with the China Youth League prior to their recent appointments. The article cited a report stating that the Politburo Standing Committee of the Party has decided to downsize the workforce in the Youth League. The article said that it is an indication that the Youth League could slowly be dissolved in official circles. Another observation was that Xi Jinping has been taking action to straighten out the Youth League to prevent the emergence of someone like Ling Jihua, the formal Chief of the Party’s General Office, who came from a Youth League background.