Corruption: an incurable disease
China * against financial and economic legislations amounted to 125 billion yuan. Of this, 4.3 billion yuan of poverty alleviation fund was used on subsidizing administrative costs, purchase of automobiles and construction of houses. Three billion yuan was either appropriated from the irrigation con-
CORRUPTION and rottenness in China are the output of the bureaucratic system, a disease not curable by campaigns against corruption and graft. ZHANG KAI Hing party leadership has made reso- 1 VER since the early 1950s, the rul-
/lutions one after another to combat corruption, but they have all been lacking in effectiveness. With the general restoration of the profit-driven market economy, and the collusion of power and money, corruption aggravates both in scale and degree. This is evidenced again in the speech of leaders after a meeting in mid January this year. The Bulletin of the Fourth General Assembly of the Disciplinary Inspection Committee of the CCP Central Leadership pointed out that this year is a crucial year in fighting corruption and rottenness. Party and state institutions and officials in leadership positions in economic, administrative, judicial and executive institutions should be centrally inspected, and illegal activities should be investigated and brought to justice. Among those to be put under special investigation would be the leadership of regions or departments which have suffered serious economic losses or major incidents, or where complaints from the public have been directed. The spouses and children of cadres in leadership positions who have used their positions of influence should also be checked.
### Serious problems
The above wording sounds empty and ambiguous, yet they offer a glimpse of the serious problems identified to lie with the party and state leadership. Wei Jianxing, Secretary of the Disciplinary Inspection Committee, said that in 1999, disciplinary inspection institutions all over the country investigated and closed files on over 130,000 cases, and disciplined over 132,000 party members, which included over 4,000 officials above the rank of county heads, over 300 officials above the rank of district heads, and 17 officials above the rank of provincial heads. However, if the statistics are read in a different way, it means that people below the rank of county heads numbered almost 97% among those disciplined. That means most are small flies and not big tigers.
### Major scandals
Here are some instances reported in the media, including some major scandals.
1. The State Central Finance Department, in conjunction with the Monitoring Department and the Central Bank, conducted an investigation on the management of funds outside of the central budget, and uncovered that unlawful, arbitrary administrative fees and funds amounted to RMB 735 million yuan, funds for special accounts receivable by the state were 12.46 billion yuan, and receivable budgetary funds were 6.33 billion yuan. This means that besides arbitrary collection of fees, funds budgeted for special accounts and purposes were appropriated for other use, such as for foreign investments or loans.!
2. The National Auditing Department found out that in 1999, various funds struction fund or were forced collection of funds from the people
The funds involved in the arbitrary collection of fines and fees, or secretive transfer of funds in over 2,400 law courts and 2,100 procuratorates, amounted to 5.7 billion yuan. 62 higher education institutions in 1998 were found to have arbitrarily collected fees and got involved in unapproved financial activities, with the amount totalling 4.9 billion yuan.
Of the funds allocated for the migration of residents affected by the Three Gorges Dam project, 500 million yuan was appropriated for other use, and 10 corruption cases and 14 people were prosecuted.? According to a report of the APF from Beijing, the amount of Three Gorges migration fund appropriated by the officials was 5 billion yuan.3
3. According to Zhao Yongji, Deputy Head of the Public Security Department, economic crimes in China "have increased dramatically and the amounts involved were immense". In the first eight months of 1999, cases investigated by the Public Security bureau involved an amount of 84 billion yuan, an increase of over three times compared to the same period in the preceding year. The number of cases totalled 33,000, an increase of 23% compared to the preceding year. In the second half of 1998, smuggled goods that were seized amounted to almost 3.7 billion yuan. At the end of 1998, in a drive against crimes in telegraphic transfers of money, China redeemed over US$10 billion.4
4. According to a circular issued by the International Viewpoint #320 April 2000 21
The above are just some incidences of Congress of the Communist Party of China corruption brought to the light. The fact convened in September 1997 made a spe-
42 9200077. Please send a copy of the protest to LPP. email,
* China / Pakistan Disciplinary Inspection Committee of the Guangdong Province, a particularly notorious case of smuggling in Zhanjiang City was uncovered. From early 1996 to September 1998, smuggled goods totalled a value of 11 billion yuan, tax evasion totalled 6.2 billion yuan, and 331 people were incriminated, with 259 being government officials, including Chen Tongqing, the former party secretary of the Zhanjiang City Party Committee, and others such as the deputy city mayor, and the bureau head of the Public Security customs bureau.S
Smuggling network
5. Yang Wenpu, an official from the macing to the chan
Government Work Committee under the State Council, and Jiang Zemin spoke about this in the Disciplinary Inspection Committee meeting, demonstrates the acuteness of the problem which does not seem to find any viable solutions. Not long ago, a decision was made to increase the salary of civil servants by 30% every year for three successive years as an attempt to rescue the situation. However, the increase in salary cannot be compared to the lucrative amounts from bribery and graft.
The best answer to the state's declaracial pledge to combat corruption and rottenness, and called on all party cadres and all the people of China to implement it.
After a year, according to Zhao Yongji above, the amounts involved in quoted economic crimes increased by over three times compared to the preceding year. The cancer continues to spread. *
1. Wen Hui Bao, 13 June, 1999.
2. Sing Tao Daily, 22 Jan, 2000.
3. APF 21 Jan, 2000 from Beijing, reported by Shing Pao, 22
Jan, 2000.
4. Ming Pao, 11 Nov, 1999.
5. Wen Hui Bao, 16 September, 1999.
6. Ming Pao, 23 Jan, 2000, and Apple Daily, 21 Jan, 2000.
7. Oriental Daily News, 11 Jan, 2000.
8. Shing Pao, 22 Jan, 2000