Chinese media reported on December 5, 2012, that the Central Discipline Inspection Commission — the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-corruption body — had launched an investigation against Li Chuncheng, the deputy secretary of Sichuan province. Some read the announcement as the first anti-corruption salvo since Xi Jinping spoke out strongly against corruption within the Party last month, and a sign the Party was making good on its promise to tackle corruption. In this cartoon, posted by artist Sun Haifeng (孙海峰) to Sina Weibo (and deleted within several hours), the Party is depicted as a feudal, backward government minister who deals with his own villainy by castrating himself with a knife and bandaging the wound. He then gives the public a V-sign for “victory,” announcing that the anti-corruption campaign is a success. The cartoon speaks to the concerns of pro-reformers, who argue that without real reform to the Party leadership system there is no hope of effectively fighting corruption.