In the Name of the People (TV series)
In the Name of the People is a 2017 Chinese television drama series based on the web novel by Zhou Meisen. Its plot revolves around a prosecutor's efforts to unearth corruption in a present-day fictional Chinese city. It drew large audiences in China, where its release coincided with Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. It is the first broadcast political drama featuring high-level government corruption in China since 2004.
The production received significant government funding from the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the highest agency responsible for both investigation and prosecution in China. The intervention from censors was much lighter due to the support of the authorities. The series is considered by some western observers as the Chinese version of House of Cards.
The program's stars include Lu Yi as detective Hou Liangping, Xu Yajun as his antagonist Qi Tongwei, and Zhang Fengyi as Sha Ruijin, the provincial Party Committee Secretary. Zhou Meisen and his wife Sun Xinyue adapted Zhou's book for television. It was primarily filmed in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province.
Synopsis
In ''the Name of the People'' chronicles the internal power struggle of the Chinese Communist Party in the fictional city of Jingzhou, Handong province. The series depicts fictional communist party disciplinary investigators seeking to bring corrupt senior cadre to justice.Cast
- Lu Yi as Hou Liangping
- Zhang Fengyi as Sha Ruijin
- Wu Gang as Li Dakang
- Xu Yajun as Qi Tongwei
- Zhang Zhijian as Gao Yuliang
- Ke Lan as Lu Yike
- Bai Zhidi as Chen Yanshi
- Li Guangfu as Zheng Xipo
- Hu Jing as Gao Xiaoqin
- Ding Haifeng as Zhao Donglai
- Zhang Xilin as Cai Chenggong
- Li Jianyi as Ji Changming
- Huang Junpeng as Chen Hai
- Han Benben as Zheng Shengli
- Tang Wan as Lin Huahua
- Yue Xiuqing as Ouyang Jing
- Ji Shuai as Zhou Zheng
- Xu Wenguang as Ding Yizhen
- Xu Guangyu as Cheng Du
- Li Wei as Sun Liancheng
- Zhang Kaili as Wu Huifen
- Li Xinyue as Zhang Baobao
- Huang Pinyuan as Yi Xuexi
- Hao Guang as Qin Siyuan
- Zhao Ziqi as Zhong Xiao'ai
- Hou Yong as Zhao Dehan
- Gao Yalin as Liu Xinjian
Reception
However, some dissidents, such as cartoonist Rebel Pepper, treated the series as a way for the authorities to manipulate and fool the public. The core of the series is that anti-graft efforts could only be conducted by a strong government rather than democratic elections or a free press, as The New York Times commented.