Photo:CCTV

After four consecutive days of airing on China's state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), the four-episode anti-graft blockbuster Continued Efforts, Deepening Progress has come to an end. Leaving audiences in shock, the documentary indicates that China's anti-corruption efforts in 2024 will be more potent and thorough, said experts. 

In this documentary, the most discussed part by the general Chinese public is the largest anti-corruption campaign in the history of Chinese soccer. In the fourth and final episode of the documentary, which aired on Tuesday night, the focus was on the cases involving soccer-related individuals. Among them were Li Tie, former head coach of the Chinese men's national soccer team; Chen Xuyuan, former chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA); and Du Zhaocai, former deputy director of the General Administration of Sport. All three individuals publicly repented in front of the camera.

During the episode, Du admitted to being swayed by the interests of club owners while seeking personal benefit.

Chen, visibly thinner, lowered his head and apologized to soccer fans nationwide.

"Corruption in Chinese soccer is not limited to one aspect, but rather is pervasive," Chen said in the new episode. "I accepted money from clubs so I would not report such practices. Therefore, in fact, this phenomenon is essentially allowed to continue."

Chen was elected as chairman of the CFA in August 2019. The night before his election, two local soccer association officials knocked on his door and each offered him 300,000 yuan ($42,204) as a bribe, asking him to "take care of their interests." 

Even before taking office, Chen felt the immense benefits hidden in this circle and willingly succumbed to it. During his tenure, he received money from multiple clubs, accumulating tens of millions of yuan.

Li, the first individual investigated in this round of anti-corruption campaign, expressed deep regret and said that he should have remained steadfast and followed the right path.

"Some things I thought were normal in soccer circles, but now I see many were actually illegal activities," he said. 

After retiring as a player, Li turned to coaching, In August 2015, he joined the Hebei China Fortune club as head coach for the first time. As soon as Li took office, the club explicitly expressed its hope for him to use his connections to bribe opponents.

"When I was a player, I hated those who played fixed matches the most," Li said. "But I accepted them because I knew that these actions might help our team increase its chances of promotion and as the head coach of a team for the first time, I really wanted to prove myself."

By 2017, when he was appointed as head coach of the Wuhan Zall club, he actively promoted match-fixing. Later, Li obtained the position of national team head coach through bribery and then demanded bribes from the club, asking them to "buy national team spots" for players.

Li was named head coach of the Chinese men's soccer team in January 2020. Just four years marked his way from the top soccer coach in the country to potential time in prison. 

All three officials have been investigated and have been transferred to detention centers. Their cases will now proceed to a highly anticipated public trial phase. Considering their inclusion in the official documentary, many netizens began to speculate that they would not receive lenient treatment.

In the field of soccer, there appeared systematic and widespread corruption. The disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies have launched a heavy blow to investigate a series of corruption cases in the soccer industry and dig deep into the underlying causes of the problems, according to the documentary.

The members of the Chinese national team, who are preparing for the Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar, would watch this episode of the documentary during their training, according to Football News. The report states that the CFA and the national team hope that, in this current turbulent period for the industry, all the players can truly understand their responsibilities, and contribute to the stability and development of Chinese soccer through their own efforts.

According to veteran soccer journalist Qin Yun, officials from the CFA are also required to watch this episode and write a reflection afterwards.

The anti-corruption drive in soccer has been ongoing for over a year since November 2022, as analysts pointed out that it has set records in terms of duration, scope and number of arrests, making it the most extensive anti-corruption action in the history of Chinese soccer. Du, in particular, holds the highest-ranking position among all officials arrested in previous soccer-related anti-corruption operations.

The documentary also included a host of high-profile and disgraced former officials including Zhang Fusheng, former deputy head of the formerly named fire and rescue department under the Ministry of Emergency Management; Zhang Xiaopei, a former senior political advisor of Northeast China's Jilin Province; Li Zaiyong, a former senior political advisor of Southwest China's Guizhou Province; Chen Jiadong, a former senior legislator in the city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province; and Fan Yifei, a former vice governor of the People's Bank of China. Many of these former officials have been involved in bribery cases with amounts exceeding 100 million yuan ($14 million).

Financial anti-corruption campaign was also a key part of the anti-corruption efforts in 2023. According to the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission, over 100 officials within the financial system were investigated in 2023, involving areas such as banking, insurance, and securities. Among these investigated financial cadres, nearly 70 percent had previously served in the banking system.

The achievements documented in this documentary reflect the decisive victory of China's anti-corruption efforts, while revealing the challenges faced in combating corruption, Tang Renwu, dean of the School of Governance of Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"Compared to previous anti-corruption efforts, we can see that it involves more fields, has a larger scope, and has a broader targeting range," said Tang. "The documentary sets the tone for the 2024 anti-corruption campaign, which is likely to deepen and expand."

Tang noted that as anti-corruption efforts deepen, some departments that control key resources will become the focus of anti-corruption campaigns, including finance, land, healthcare, and education. 

"The public should remain confident in the drive after viewing the documentary."

In the first nine months of 2023, Chinese discipline inspection and supervision agencies filed around 470,000 cases, with 12,000 individuals involved in bribery cases. A total of 45 senior officials were investigated in 2023, the highest number since 2012.

The CCDI of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country's top anti-graft body, the National Commission of Supervision (NCS), have pledged to intensify scrutiny in areas including finance, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), healthcare, grain procurement and sales, rural revitalization, tobacco, sports, statistics and more.