Look behind promotions

SO, LIU TIENAN, THE DISGRACED FORMER chief of the National Energy Administration and deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, is not one of a kind.

Like the rise and fall of many other corrupt officials caught in the past, Liu's upward trajectory of decay was coupled with corruption.

The indictment shows that between 2002 and 2012, Liu took almost $6 million in bribes for behind-the-scenes brokering on behalf of corporate interests. In return, he and his family received a car, a villa, cash, and company shares.