CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection

 

China's anti-corruption campaign has entered a new phase since the 18th Party Congress. President Xi Jinping called for courage in the battle against corruption at a plenum of the Central Disciplinary Commit­tee earlier this year.

 

It has been announced that the upcoming Fourth Plenum of the 18th CPC Committee will adopt the comprehensive construction of rule of law as its theme. By interviewing scholars in the field, we will try to outline the trends of China's national governance.

 

Strategies of anti-corruption

The anti-corruption drive demon­strates the government's firm deter­mination to establish "clean politics" as the centerpiece of the new gen­eration of Chinese leadership, said Ren Jianming, a professor from the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and director of the Cen­ter for Clean Politics at the university.

 

The Chinese government has adopted a top-down campaign to fight against corruption since the 18th Party Congress, and they have achieved many breakthroughs. For instance, Ren said, the regulations concerning the "four ethics" and "eight rules" both achieved practical results, while the campaign of "fight­ing tigers" has crossed the barriers and "forbidden zones" that were set in the past.

 

Rome was not built in a day, and the fight against corruption is a long uphill battle. A large number of offi­cials are still suspected to be engaged in corruption, though the central government remains resolute that it will root them out in the course of time. Only when anti-corruption efforts reach a critical mass, will the number of perpetrators decrease, Ren Jianming emphasized.

 

Wei Changdong, a professor from Nanjing Audit University, noted that those who commit corruption are habitual rule-breakers, always trying to find cracks in the system. Power itself contains the seeds of corrup­tion, Wang said.

 

A report recently released by Ren­min University of China indicated that there is no magic bullet for end­ing corruption. The report proposed measures including supervision, in­centive mechanisms and limitations on power to ensure governmental officials are not able to engage in corruption or are unwilling to take the risk.

 

Symptoms and disease

Treating symptoms is not the same as treating the disease, but both must be addressed. Currently, the corruption is very pressing in China, so the primary goal should be to focus on "symptoms." When a de­terrent effect is created after a series campaigns, the amount of new cor­ruption cases will decrease and ulti­mately be contained, Ren Jianming argued.

 

Wei Changdong suggested focus­ing on two core factors when fighting against corruption. One is the estab­lishment of a system and the other one is efficient operation. Establish­ing a scientific system that is capable of containing crimes of corruption is a precondition. Strict adherence to the rules is the only way to ensure an efficient implementation of the established system.

Some scholars noted that the disciplinary watchdog has already started reform measures, which now hang like the Sword of Damocles over corrupt officials. To some ex­tent, these measures are targeting the root of corruption by enhancing the independence and authority of watchdogs.

 

"In the past, there was not enough supervision to monitor power and people had the nerve to commit corruption. Due to the efficient anti-corruption actions being taken, however, the number of those will­ing is decreasing. I believe the anti-corruption campaign will enter a phase of getting to the root in the fu­ture," said Ren Jianming.

 

Transforming governance

Power is like a tiger. Absolute power breeds corruption. When we are fighting "tigers," we must think of how to put the "tiger" into a cage. Most scholars agree that placing limitations on power is the first step in the fight against corruption.

 

The new Chinese leadership brought up the anti-corruption issue at their very first press meeting. Ren Jianming said, "We can see the anti-corruption campaigns in 2013 and 2014 were led by the central government, and local governments followed." It is because the consequences of "big tigers" are much more severe than improper ethical be­haviors on a small scale, Ren continued.

 

How to shut power into a cage after fighting the tiger? Scholars suggested to oversee the top leaders is the first priority. Next to it, is imposing restric­tions on civil servants. Civil servants in China possess great power. If there is no supervision and no incentives, corrup­tion would be inevitable, Nie Huihua, a professor of economics from Renmin University of China analyzed.

 

In the view of Wei Changdong, the philosophy of containing corruption in the world requires transformation from passive governance to positive gover­nance. The former philosophy entails punishments after the crimes are done, while the latter is preventative. One ex­ample is to hold officials accountable for neglecting their role in monitoring and reporting corruption.

 

Qian Xiaoping from Nanjing Audit University said, whether it’s a "tiger" or a "fly", corruption must be covered by many transparent procedures, so defining the liabilities of the affili­ated persons and witnesses within the chain of command will play a significant role in cracking down on corruption.

 

The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 632, Aug.11, 2014

Translated by Feng Daimei