The first episode of the series, “Never Stop, Never Retreat” (一步不停歇 半步不退让), aired on January 11, on the eve of the annual meeting of the Communist Party of China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). The central story of the episode is the case of Tang Renjian, former Minister of Agriculture, who was found guilty in autumn 2025 of accepting bribes totaling more than 268 million yuan and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. On camera, Renjian подробно recounts his lavish banquets, entertainment, and informal connections, while most of the agricultural projects under his supervision were in fact effectively suspended. Particular emphasis is placed on an “antiques” scheme: under the guise of trading allegedly high-value works of art, Renjian received bribes from businesspeople, which were accepted and stored on his behalf by a trusted intermediary who simultaneously acted as a “white glove” to conceal illegal income and a “money bag” to accumulate it.

The first episode also covers the case of Li Xianlin, former Party chief of Luoshan County (Henan Province), where a violation of a ban on banquets during a disciplinary campaign led to the death of one official due to excessive alcohol consumption. It further highlights a case involving the embezzlement of pension funds in Longlin County (Guangxi), in which Nong Suling, formerly head of the local human resources and social security bureau, and her subordinate Yang Sujiao for many years exploited their official “monopoly” and weak oversight by fabricating data and arranging illegal payments, thereby causing damage to social security funds.

The second episode aired on January 12 and was devoted to collusion between officials and business. The central story is the case of Luo Baoming, former head of Hainan and vice-chairman of the Committee on Overseas Chinese Affairs of the 13th National People’s Congress, who built an entire corruption network involving entrepreneurs, officials, and their relatives. The episode describes how members of the network obtained benefits under the guise of “market” transactions – property swaps, purchases of assets at inflated prices, nominal ownership of shares, and registration of assets in the names of third parties – as well as the provision of various services and privileges to Luo’s family (flights, trips, accommodation, services, and payment of wedding expenses).

This episode also examines the case of Xu Xianping, former vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, who after retirement continued to use his influence by assisting entrepreneurs and receiving benefits disguised as “loans”, the temporary “lending” of resources, and indirect participation in organizations through relatives – via nominal share ownership that was later sold at multimillion-yuan profits. It also addresses the case of Chen Hongsheng (Heilongjiang), who combined official authority with de facto control over business through his son-in-law and affiliated entities: under the pretext of developing the forestry sector, he secured state funding for infrastructure, obtained forest land on preferential terms, and redirected budget subsidies and project funds to his own initiatives (including failed crop cultivation projects and the conversion of a site intended for rare animals into a private deer park).

*In China, television shows are an especially popular means of fostering public intolerance toward corruption. A cycle of documentary television series on anti-corruption has been jointly produced by the CCDI and CCTV since 2014. Each series focuses on the most high-profile corruption cases, measures of Party oversight, reforms of the supervision system, and efforts to combat corruption at the local level. Brief descriptions of the documentaries included in the cycle can be found in our database (see “Series of Documentary Television Shows on Anti-Corruption in China”).