HONG KONG—Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Guangxi have sacked the head of a tobacco monopoly bureau in the province after a diary allegedly detailing his sexual exploits with women and office drinking parties was released on the Internet.
Han Feng, 53, was stripped of his official post and expelled from the ruling Communist Party after being arrested on suspicion of accepting 482,000 yuan (U.S. $71,000) in bribes from 2002-2010.
Dubbed “Diarygate” by the Chinese media, the revelations attributed to Han Feng caused waves of scandal and outrage among Chinese netizens, who then banded together to find out his identity.
The diaries detail in terse, matter-of-fact language the life of a provincial-level official, which some thought was remarkably restrained, compared with the exploits of some of Han Feng’s colleagues.
“At 10 p.m., Tan Shanfang drove over and dragged me over to her house,” runs the entry for Nov. 6, 2007, referring to one of Han Feng’s lovers. “We made love three times.”
The following day, which the diary records as being “11-25C sunny,” it reads, “Tan drove me back early in the morning. I read some in the morning.”
Affairs with five colleagues
“I went to the office in the afternoon and met with the treasurer. In the evening, I delivered the ‘civilized manners’ speech to the logistics workers,” the diary records, according to an English translation posted by blogger Roland Soong.
The diary, which hasn’t been authenticated as that of Han Feng, describes affairs with five female colleagues and frequent drunken dinner parties with local government officials, police, and directors of tobacco companies.
And a December entry from the same year reads, according to an extract in the official China Daily newspaper: "Womanizing is on the right track. It's been a lucky year with women."
However, the author reflects: “I need to pay attention to my health with so many sex partners.”
Sentence expected
Han Feng’s arrest comes days after a speech made by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in which he called on local governments to curb corruption in their ranks.
Guangxi-based civil rights lawyer Yang Zaixin said he expects a heavy sentence for Han Feng in the current political climate.
“I think the sentence will be fairly stiff, because this case has had a far-reaching impact,” Yang said.
He called on the government to implement reforms to China’s political system as soon as possible.
“They should allow freedom of the press, and give the media free rein to monitor the government effectively,” said Yang.
Rui Qixian, a civil rights activist based in the provincial capital of Nanning, said cases like Han’s are commonplace and barely raise an eyebrow among ordinary Chinese people.
He cited a recent online poll by popular racing driver and blogger Han Han, in which more than 200,000 netizens voted.
“There were two options to vote for; one was that Han Feng was a good official who should remain in his post, and the other was that he was a bad official who should be dealt with severely according to law,” Rui said.
Poll results revealed that 96 percent of respondents had voted for the first option.
“Of course there is a satirical element to this, but it’s a very pointed satire,” Rui said.
“It also shows that corruption has become very mainstream, and it no longer surprises people when they find it.”
He called for preventive measures to prevent corruption in the first place.
“Things like this will continue to happen if there is no monitoring system set up,” Rui said. “Anything else is just treating the symptoms and not the disease.”
State prosecutors announced last week that they investigated 2,670 officials above the county level in 2009 for corruption, including Huang Songyou, a former vice president of the Supreme People's Court, and seven others holding senior rank.
Original reporting in Mandarin by Wen Jian. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated from the Mandarin and written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.