(大尸凶/NetEase)
Xi Jinping has made catching “tigers and flies” a hallmark of his presidency. His administration is cracking down on corruption at all levels of government, and luxury watchmakers, upscale liquor companies, and Macau casinos are feeling the pinch.
Reports surfaced in Chinese media on Wednesday about the capture of a “fly” with a particularly voracious appetite: Ma Chaoqun, an administrative-level cadre in Hebei who managed to horde RMB 120 million ($19.6 million) in cash and 82 pounds of gold in his home. Ma also holds documents of ownership for 68 houses.
For the Chinese web portal NetEase, cartoonist Dashixiong renders Ma Chaoqun as a feasting fly, too short to fill his administrator’s chair, but insatiable at the table of corruption. A tiger’s tail curls in a corner, perhaps a reference to Ma’s friends in higher places. Ma is the former manager of the Beidaihe Water Supply Corporation, which services the Beidaihe seaside resort, the summer retreat of Beijing’s elite.
