Hu was also a member of the State Council's Religious Affairs section, indicating that Hu's death might also have had to do with the Falun Gong. In any event, he was the highest-ranking Chinese official executed since the founding of the People's Republic, indicating how intense the purges might become. The execution coincides with a new ''Go West'' campaign, focusing on shifting investment and economic development away from the coastal regions toward the less developed interior. Li's antagonism toward the unbridled capitalism of the coastal regions is taking hold. And Beijing, fearing instability and opposition in the coastal areas, is pursuing a traditional path of Chinese communism, trying to anchor the regime in the support of peasants and poor workers in the interior.
Matters are far from settled, however.
Even Li Peng is not immune from the anti-corruption drive. A handpicked Deputy NPC Chairmen, Cheng Kejie, has been absent and is reportedly under investigation for corruption. Interestingly, the head of the Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wei Jianxing, who is in charge of all the investigations, is a protege of Qiao Shi - an appointment of reformists in an effort to maintain influence. Both sides will wield the corruption issue as a weapon. Some of Li's closest supporters will probably be sacrificed.