Xi Jinping opens Zhou Yongkang probe

China’s president Xi Jinping will handle the investigation of retired senior official Zhou Yongkang through a special unit, going outside the normal internal disciplinary protocol, South China Morning Post reported, citing unnamed sources. Corrupt officials are usually detained by the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) for interrogation before being handed to police and prosecutors, but in this case Beijing police chief Fu Zhenghua will report directly to Xi. CCDI head Wang Qishan and Xi reportedly want police with criminal investigation experience to handle the probe rather than the CCDI, whose methods are in question.