The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee made a decision Monday to expel Ling Jihua, a senior Party official and national political advisor, from the Party and from public office. It said it has turned over Ling's criminal case to judicial organs.

Information released shows that Ling violated the political discipline and rules of the CPC regarding national security, economy and morality. His acts seem to have been distorted by self-centeredness after his high post pushed his ambition and desire to grow immensely.

One must understand there are limits to rights given to him or her. But Ling's case shows that his political ambition and personal desires crossed the red line of human decency and of an official, moreover he despised the Party's discipline and the nation's laws. He was destined to fall.

Ling is supposed to have had broad vision given his high position and wide access to information, but he became obsessed with power. Forgetting that power is endowed by the Party and people to serve the country, he took it as a tool to be abused without limit.

This unbridled ambition and desire has ruined Ling's reasoning and vigilance that should have kept him from overstepping the boundaries. He blindly believed power can help him settle everything. But in the Internet age nothing can be hidden. The guilty will be brought to justice sooner or later.

Ling's violation of Party discipline and State laws came not long after Bo Xilai, former Party chief of Chongqing, was exposed for breaking the law. But Ling did not heed the warnings. His case shows that if someone is allowed to be self-obsessed, he will lose every piece of reasoning and common sense. 

Officials appointed by the Party must subject themselves to the CPC Central Committee and abide by its discipline and national law. The higher their position, the more they have to curb their desires and ambition. If they indulge themselves, they will eventually face severe consequences. Both Zhou Yongkang and Ling Jihua had assumed tremendous power, but they learned their lesson the hard way.

When Ling was at the peak of his power, his close relatives indulged in their desires and became involved in criminal behavior and they paid a high price. History shows that power has to be handled with caution. But this is often neglected, so history repeats itself.

Whatever lies ahead, one needs to be clearly aware of the bottom line. Be they officials or civilians, they can only live a peaceful life when they comply with Party discipline and the law.