Former security chief Zhou Yongkang, whose associates are at the center of a recent series of anti-corruption investigations into China’s oil industry, made a public appearance on Tuesday at the China University of Petroleum. From South China Morning Post:
Zhou, a retired member of the Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, attracted attention with a visit to his alma mater, China University of Petroleum, which analysts suspect was aimed at countering the intense speculation about the graft investigations surrounding his family members and protégés.
[…] The university released at least 20 pictures on its website But the official reception was low-key compared to appearances by other retired leaders. Zhou was only accompanied by the university’s president and party secretary and no senior Beijing official was mentioned in the university’s press release. The visit was also not mentioned in any major state media.
Zhou gave Xi his full backing when meeting old classmates and school officials, urging them to pursue the “Chinese dream”, a Xi catchphrase.
“[The university] should become a first-class research university and contribute to the building of a moderately prosperous society and write a new chapter of the petroleum sector [as part of the] Chinese dream,” he was quoted as saying in a report on the university website. [Source]
Read more about Zhou Yongkang, via CDT.
