How Much did He Know?

Ling Wancheng (left) is the youngest brother of Ling Jihua (right)

There are conflicting reports on Ling Wancheng, younger brother of Ling Jihua, who was the former top aide to then Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Ling Jihua was expelled from the Communist Party of China last year and is expected to be tried for corruption and illegally obtaining state secrets. His career unraveled after his son was killed in a Ferrari crash in March 2012.

At the time it was strange that the crash was covered up almost immediately after it was initially reported because Ling Jihua reportedly mobilized staff from the Central Security Bureau to suppress reports of it and words like "Ferrari", "Little Ling" and "Prince Ling" were blocked.

Ling Jihua's son died in this fiery Ferrari crash in 2012

However eventually it was revealed that the 23-year-old man who died in the crash was Ling's son and questions arose as to how he was able to acquire such an expensive sports car. Even though Ling sough assistance from then powerful security czar Zhou Yongkang, both have lost politically, and the latter is now languishing in prison for the rest of his life.

Because Ling Jihua was so close to Hu, there were allegations that businessman Ling Wencheng defected to the United States and revealed state secrets to American intelligence officials. It is unclear how much information he would have known, but it is believed he profited handsomely from his family connections.

However, Ling Wancheng's lawyer has come out to deny revealing secrets like nuclear weapons codes and details about the Chinese leadership.

Ling Wancheng reportedly lives in this home in Sacramento

"My client frankly would like to be left alone so he can play more golf," said Washington lawyer Gregory Smith. "He is presently working on writing a book about golfing, and he hopes to share with others his golf secrets that literally can add 10-15 yards to anyone's drive off the tee."

Smith did not answer questions about whether Ling Wancheng was seeking asylum in the US.

There are also reports that top security official Meng Jianzhu had tried to negotiate Ling's return to China when he visited the US last September.

A book about golf, huh? We expect this upcoming tome to be a best seller...

Corruption Crackdown Continues

Jiang Jiemin is being investigated for corruption related to his time at CNPC

After the shocking announcement that former security czar Zhou Yongkang was being investigated, one of his proteges Jiang Jiemin is is being probed for "serious discipline violations", in other words, corruption.

Jiang is a director of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and former chairman of the country's largest oil company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The 58-year-old was just appointed to the cabinet-level position in March.

It is believed the investigation into Jiang is to mine for information to be used against Zhou.

There are questions of why Jiang was elevated to the SASAC post when there were concerns about CNPC's role in trying to cover up the crash of a Ferrari on March 18 last year.

A $1million black Ferrari lost control on Beijing's North Third Ring Road and slammed into a wall. The driver, who died instantly, was Ling Gu, the only son of Ling Jihua, then chief of staff to then President Hu Jintao. He was in the car half naked, while two other women, one naked, the other half clothed succumbed to their injuries.

Ling Gu's Ferrari split into two after a crash in Beijing

Jiang raised eyebrows when he transferred tens of millions of yuan from CNPC to the families of the two women who were subsequently killed in the crash. Last year Jiang was questioned about this, why money from a state-owned company was funneled to two families, which he (as far as we know) had no relationship with.

But in the coming weeks and months, we will get to know more, as the infighting within the Party continues revealing more dirty details.

Bo Xilai's trial and now the investigations into Zhou Yongkang and Jiang Jiemin reveal how the patronage of senior officials is crucial in fast-tracking one's career, but if your mentor falls politically on the wrong side of the tracks, you can be eternally doomed with them.