The first trials in China's biggest corruption scandal began yesterday under a veil of secrecy intended to minimise the Communist leadership's embarrassment. Court officers in Fujian province confirmed that proceedings had begun in the 50 billion yuan (about £5.5 billion) smuggling case believed to involve up to 600 government officials, several of whom are likely to be sentenced to death.
Some of the key figures in the scandal have fled overseas and there is widespread scepticism that others, who have close links to the leadership in Beijing, will be charged.
The case centres on the smuggling of fuel, tobacco, cigarettes and rubber by the Yuanhua Group of Hong Kong, in co-operation with corrupt police, customs and party officials.
The court building in Xiamen, one of the five centres where the trials are being held, was closed to everyone without official passes yesterday, including most of the court staff, in an effort to keep the proceedings secret.
Internet chatrooms were buzzing with discussions of one of the country's biggest news stories of the year, but the mainland media were warned not to report the case without official approval.
A duty officer at another court, in Zhangzhou, said it seemed "very mysterious".
"I heard that if they tried one person a day they would never get through this case in a year," a resident of Xiamen, Mr Chen Changjian, said.
So far the courts have confirmed only a handful of prosecutions: six in Xiamen and a further 12 in Putian. They include Mr Cao Xinghai, general manager of the Orient Group in Fujian, which is accused of providing the smugglers with trading documents in return for a 20 million yuan annual payoff.
The head of Yuanhua, Mr Lai Changqing, who is alleged to have spent heavily on official protection, fled China before he could be arrested and took refuge in either Burma or Canada, according to Hong Kong press reports. The vice-mayor of Xiamen, Mr Lan Fu, reportedly made it to Australia.
Others suspects seem to enjoy the protection of powerful patrons. When website reports linked the Beijing Communist party chief and politburo member Mr Jia Jinglin, who is politically close to President Jiang Zemin, to the corruption investigation, the state propaganda machine was quick to clear him.
There is no sign of any of the senior officials detained, including a former head of military intelligence, Gen Ji Shengde, and the immigration chief, Mr Xu Ganlu, being brought to trial. There are unconfirmed reports that Beijing has decided to limit the political fallout by focusing on middle-rank provincial officials.
Beijing has launched a highly publicised crackdown on corruption in recent months. President Jiang said it represents a "life and death" struggle for the party.