An incomplete record of a chief’s downfall

1

In December 2015, Hou Di Shu, the head of the company, was removed from his post on the spot for serious violation of eight regulations. He had been at the head of the unit for nine years when he fell.

The dismissal came after the end of work at 6pm on Friday. Hou Di shu, accompanied by his family, got into his private car and left the place where he started and rose to be the director of the bureau overnight. In our unit, only a small number of people know the exact time of his departure.

“I don’t want to be in this place for a second.” At the new gate of the unit, he and several cadres said.

The new retractable gate was completed only a few months ago. “After more than 10 years of keeping the gate intact, he chose to rebuild it this year, which is a new face. It’s not good luck.” There have long been whispers.

“Maybe I’m afraid of an accident and want to build a new one to get rid of the bad luck.” Some people guess so.

As the accountant of this institution, I have gone through three rounds of auditing in 2015 alone. In fact, as early as the second round of audit in July, the provincial bureau and brother units came the news, the unit deputy director Qu Xiangbin reported the head of hou Di shu.

In private chat, some cadres will also ridicule, “Heard that your unit a deputy director of the director of the report?”

Now look back, if not informants step by step, Hou Di book will not fall.

2

In March 2015, after the Lunar New Year, provincial bureaus began conducting regular internal audits, which happen every two or three years. All cadres think it is nothing more than eating and drinking, going through the motions, pointing out a few problems without any pain and finishing their routine work.

The leader of the provincial bureau was a leader named Zhu Wei, who came from our bureau, so the leaders knew him very well. It is customary for the financial department to treat the three of the party.

In fact, the eight regulations were already very strict at that time, but for my unit, like other documents and spirit, the leadership stressed on the conference, cadres handed in a few from the Internet download experience, but so.

“No, no, just eat with everyone in the staff canteen.” Zhu Wei smiled and shirked.

“Well, I must say this is an accident. I have been fooled by the provincial authorities. The people will not give me a chance to invite you to dinner.” The female section chief of the Finance section had worked with him and had a good joke.

“Now the eight-point rule is so strict that eating and drinking with public funds is strictly forbidden.”

“Who said to use public funds, we this is also to see the leaders hard, weekdays to our city is also more care, this is private our financial please you. Previously said privately invited, to go on business cadre is not willing to go, everyone said nothing, are arranged by the leadership, can be reimbursed. The internal audit, we are just playing a ha ha, each other unspoken, the final bill or the public.

The dinner that night was arranged in a farmhouse courtyard. After the provincial bureau sent it to me, I was in charge of picking up Qu Xiangbin, the deputy director of the bureau. The bus could not stop in front of the farmyard, and we all stopped in an alley a few hundred metres away. On the evening of this not yet hot March, he walked panting.

“Xiao Wu, My health is not good. I can’t breathe when I walk. My blood pressure is high, my blood sugar is high and my heart is not good. You see in such a dinner party, I, in this position not to accompany and not, accompany, the body can not bear, alas.” Director Qu said to me with a sigh.

The evening of the dinner, because Hou Di was not in, the municipal bureau attended the top leadership is Qu Xiangbin.

3

No matter where you are, you drink like hell when it comes to checking on work or research.

Eat and drink well the night before, and the next day’s exam is over. As the saying goes, “eat other people’s mouth soft”, the focus is to wait for the wine, the head is not dizzy, almost to noon, so the next day’s work is often hasty to deal with.

As a rule, a la carte farmhouse house dishes, wine is the local famous white wine, or even the latest style. After the routine greetings, Qu xiangbin raised the eight-full goblet and poured it to the provincial leaders, who all drank it in one gulp.

The 50-year-old financial section chief finished the first cup, his face white down. I saw that she looked so bad that I hurried out with her. Outside the door she leaned against the wall, pressing her stomach down, and large drops of sweat rose from her forehead.

I helped her sit on the sofa in the hallway and asked the waiter for a glass of hot water. After a short respite, she asked me to go back. As a young man, I had to take care of the drinking.

Provincial bureau has just graduated a few years of female students, drinking water with a goblet, qu Xiangbin saw out, “I say Xiao Deng, everyone is a liquor, how do you pour water into it?”

“Qu director general, sorry, I can’t drink white spirit, can only replace wine with water.”

“Wine which have can of, pour into the mouth, swallow down not to get.” Qu Xiangbin picked up the wine glass and gesturing with a smile, then drank it all down, and everyone laughed.

“Upside down, downside up.”

“Have a drink, Xiao Deng.”

“Wine, drink drink will be.” Everyone joined in the booing.

“In the future, the world will be dominated by your young people. Where can you go if you can’t drink? Look at your desk.” Qu Xiangbin turned his head to Zhang Wei and said, “When I was in the city, there were so many things. Now I have become the leader of the provincial bureau. Come here, have a drink!” Qu Xiangbin took up his glass and made a toast to Xiao Deng.

“Really not, I’m so sorry…” Xiao Deng shook his head and waved his hand at Qu xiangbin.

Accustomed to the atmosphere of men, women and children on such a dinner, suddenly met a girl who did not touch alcohol, everyone with Qu Xiangbin turned to the topic of this girl.

“Know that who not, that year still be a little girl of time, drink is not to get.”

“Yes, yes, that drink is not as bad as men, and drink drink can come a song or a dance for everyone to add fun.”

“Very popular, such a person’s leader just like. Now the family is the youngest female director.”

“Remember that who does not, last time accompany top leadership to have a meal, drink directly to the hospital, the end of the year directly promoted.”

“Know know, that girl will come, can drink again.”

We chat, have advised xiao Deng Jingqu to bin a cup. But just a few years into the work of the young Deng said nothing would not drink. Presently the tears began to flow. When everyone saw this, the atmosphere was a little awkward and they stopped trying to persuade her.

Of course, the girl has been remembered ever since, because it was the first time something like this had happened in such an institution.

Soon after the stomachache, the head of the finance section returned to the wine table and drank as usual. This audit is about finance. She can’t afford to drink less.

That night, dinner was over by about two in the morning.

The next day, Zhang Wei got drunk and slept in the hotel. Xiao Deng and another comrade conducted an audit on the financial affairs of the past three years. The audit could be regarded as a fleeting audit, and the audit results were reported to the leaders in the afternoon.

4

In September 2015, the general administration of inspection group suddenly came to the city office on a Thursday morning without any warning.

Inspection group arrived in the province at the beginning of September, and inspected the 3 municipal bureaus according to the plan. Our city is not in the plan. This sudden attack is said to be because I received a real-name report, “I beg the general bureau inspection group to inspect my bureau.”

Inspection group comes to be targeted apparently, listed a list of data, one wants original to finance. The list covers official expenses, infrastructure, vehicle auctions, staff canteen subsidies, and even dates to a certain month of the year.

“Xiao Wu, you go to stare point, see what they copy.” The section chief whispered to me.

Pretending to help them, I went over to the photocopier and said enthusiastically, “Let me make copies for you.”

“No, thank you.” The gay man who was copying smiled at me, then turned sideways and copied again. He turned sideways just in front of me, so I had to leave.

Downstairs met Hou Di book, I whispered hello: “Hou director hello.”

‘What are you doing now? The first time he stopped when I met him.

“Copying materials.”

“What are the copies?” He spoke in a much lower voice than usual, without expression.

“No, it’s probably for official receptions and official vehicles…” I was about to say something more when one of the inspection group staff came upstairs.

“Well, you go to work.” He gave a slight nod to the inspection group staff and turned to go upstairs.

Not long after I got back to the office, a lesbian from inspection group walked in and said, “hello, have you found the second billing document I told you to look for, dated October 2011?”

“No? Just certificate all moved past ah.” ‘I said, standing up.

“Sure not. Please look again.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll look for it now.”

Proof of charge to an account is impossibly little. But after verification, there is really one less, I am busy reporting to the section chief.

“Leave alone first, just that female also said to me, perhaps mix into other data inside.” The section chief said.

Half an hour or so, that inspection group female comrade came in again, ask that certificate. Section chief is looking for it.

Wait for female comrade to walk, section chief helplessly say to me, “she return true persistence.” Then he pulled the voucher from a pile of discarded newspapers behind him.

I laughed and whispered, “You hid it. I also thought that if it were lost, we would be responsible.”

In this proof, the data that a set of processing state – owned property, suspect violate rules. One of the official cars was auctioned off at a very low price by a cadre. Hundreds of credentials, only less this one, was found by inspection group.

The inspection group people left before the end of the afternoon, carrying heavy copies. Different from previous audits, the people on this tour did not say anything superfluous, but silently consulted and copied materials.

“Quick as a Wolf.” Someone in the city described it this way.

5

From October to November 2015, Hou Di shu stayed in the company and there was no news about the audit.

But all who knew Him felt the change. The old domineering gone, if someone in the office met him, he would also kindly greet; After dinner, he did not see a group of people walking with him, only occasionally saw him walk through the courtyard alone.

In mid-October, Mr. Hou convened a brief informal meeting of finance and service officials.

“Don’t be so serious, everyone.” “He began.

Heads were down and no one spoke.

“I have a general understanding of the problems of this inspection, and the focus is on the disbursement of official receptions.” He spoke dialect, looked at the accounting department responsible for the internal audit of the pony, “tobacco and alcohol invoices are not allowed to appear in the account, I asked the pony, pony did not tell me that can not be reported. There was no hint of complaint in his voice.

“You don’t have to worry about what happens. I have a lot on my plate. We should how stem how stem, patrol of come to ask a question, do not hide to hide, how should cooperate how to cooperate.” Hou Di shu coughed a little and said, “This call is not for anything but to let everyone rest assured and continue to do good work.”

“Maybe you’ve heard some wind too.” Hou Di looked around. “Our city is being reported this time. Inspection group was about to return to Beijing after spot-checking the three places. We received a report, asking inspection group to audit our city bureau.”

“With a plea!” “Hou di shu repeated,” It’s so chilling. To be honest, I personally think it’s good for the city and everyone for so many years. I always try my best to distribute the welfare to everyone.

“Moreover, the informant also said that it was useless to report these problems to the provincial bureau, because our municipal party group and the provincial bureau inspection group colluded in collusion.”

“I could not have imagined that these things, which I only read about in the news, would happen in our city hall. When the provincial bureau came in July, the reception dinner in the evening was actually filmed by people with ulterior motives and given to the general bureau inspection group!”

This is undoubtedly a dynamite news, everyone is shocked at hou Di book.

“The whole of our municipal bureau will be eliminated, but the provincial bureau’s leaders will also be eliminated. Now they all ridicule me, said to go to your city, even dare not eat rice.”

The July tour was the second audit in 2015. At that time the provincial bureau led the team is an important leader, so Hou Di must sit with the book. Candid is in advance of the hidden camera, so The book houdi thought it could only be the ghost inside.

6

The focus of inspection group is on the “eight rules”, which is where the problem of houdi falls. Accounting vouchers, tobacco and alcohol invoices attached to the list, a brand of cigarettes, a brand of how many cases of white wine.

Hou Di book before the meeting, has been looking for the pony, asked her to know that alcohol and tobacco can not account, how did not say. Pony said these credentials are section chief review. Perhaps section chief also did not think that inspection group will seize the issue of public banquet. In fact, alcohol and tobacco is no more than an excuse, Hou Di book more serious problems, but these vouchers are unable to deny.

In fact, the problem of tobacco and alcohol is very easy to avoid, nothing more than to change the invoice, use the invoice of office supplies to replace the tobacco and alcohol, catering invoices, or replace the welfare issued by employees, make up the list of office supplies.

Many units in the province have such false accounts.

I once found in a county bureau that the office supplies purchased in a year can fill several warehouses with A4 paper, and the stapler purchased in an average year can be divided into 30 pieces by a person. However, in fact, the unit A4 paper also put a few boxes, stapler at most one person.

Not only that, in the list of office supplies, there are a number of kitchen knives, machetes. I ask county bureau of office director: “you this is each hand a machete to go to work?” He hey hey smile say: “office supplies really can’t make up, can think of all used.”

In November, the general administration of inspection group issued the feedback results, hou di book no objection.

In fact, in their private discussions, officials and workers are more interested in bidding for infrastructure projects, accepting bribes, buying and selling official positions, and the style of men and women. They are accustomed to eating and drinking with public funds and using public vehicles for personal use.

However, those questions are difficult to obtain evidence, or there is no specific clue, or, as it is argued, if the book is dealt with too heavily, the people above it will be implicated.

In December, Hou was removed from his post. In the same month, the airborne new director took office.

In August 2017, the new director, who had been in office for a year and eight months, was reassigned to a coastal province without warning, and his administration was downgraded one notch. Opinions vary on the cause of the demotion, with the best guess being that it was linked to the head of the provincial bureau under investigation by the CENTRAL Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Sometimes I have to admire the national machinery. Even if some parts are broken, the replacement is a broken one, but it still keeps moving forward vigorously.

(All names in this article are pseudonyms)