There is another female official known by overseas media as an "Iron Lady": Liu Liying, the former deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
As a veteran with 24 years working experience in the discipline inspection and supervision department, Liu garnered fame from her involvement in several tough cases. The major cases of which she was responsible for are all landmarks in China's anti-corruption campaign history:
In the late 1970s, Li was the judge for the trial of Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's wife. In 1986, Liu was responsible for the investigation of Ni Xiance, the first provincial-level official since the nation carried out the reform and opening up policy. Liu investigated the Deng Bin case in 1995, as well as the subsequent cases involving many senior local officials. Because of her work, Liu is literally a legendary figure in China's fight against corruption.
Many of Liu's workmates display sincere respect toward her. Liu Dianshu, former deputy director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Supervision who investigated a case together with Liu, recalled: "Once, the local authority had reported several times to the Central Government about the cases in Heilongjiang, nothing happened. Just as the cases were doomed to be suspended, Liu Liying got involved and she soon made a breakthrough."
Regarding the illegal fund-raising case of Deng Bin in an east China city of Wuxi, when Deng confessed herself as guilty, many investigators believed that the case could be "closed", but Liu decided to continue the investigation and eventually Chen Xitong, the then mayor of Beijing, was also rounded up.
Like other anti-corruption fighters, Liu, from time to time, had to face slander and even threats from some people who were being investigated for their wrongdoing. Liu recalled that during the investigation of a case in Harbin, someone wrote a letter to the central authorities, saying that she was a very corrupt official close to top leadership. In the case of Mu Suixin and Ma Xiangdong, two Shenyang officials who later were sentenced to death for corruption, someone tried to frame her, saying that she had covered up for the suspects and her son had taken a bribe of 4 million yuan from one suspect. Some of the foreign media also reported this distorted story.
Under great pressure, Liu remained steadfast. She urged her organization to investigate her son and they finally proved her son's innocence; at the same time her investigation of the case continued.
Perhaps, Liu Liying' tenacity and firmness could be better understood by knowing the story of her past. "During the decade of turmoil in the Cultural Revolution, Liu lost three of her direct relatives in three successive years: her father, husband and mother. She herself also was punished by two-years of probation within the Party, then dismissal, demotion and finally she was driven out of city. Nevertheless, she had never accepted the unfair conclusions imposed on her.
Liu often says that it is easy to be a cadre member working in the discipline inspection department but difficult to be "a loyal guardian of the Party." The former career needs professional ethics, while the latter needs spirit. Huang Kecheng, a senior official, once asked the discipline inspection cadres to have "five-fearlessness": no fear of death, jail, removal from office, being expelled from the party and divorce. "Over the years, I keep his teachings in my mind and my heart is always filled with the belief and determination to win."
(China.org.cn by Wang Zhiyong, Zhou Jing, Yang Xi and Zhang Tingting, March 8, 2008)