Opinion

Prove bribe charges wrong

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-27 10:52

Perhaps because our economy is too large, perhaps because we have too many people that Chinese are omnipresent, well almost. Or else, how could we be dragged into a deal between German automaker Daimler AG and the United States government?

The US administration accuses the automaker of bribing officials in "at least 22 countries" to "secure government contracts". China, too, is on the list of bribe-taking countries.

Some details are startling. The German automaker is said to have paid the alleged bribes - cash, luxury cars, golf club memberships and/or overseas vacations - to officials until January 2008. And they are said to have helped it win huge government contracts in a lot of countries, including China.

We have been put on such less-than-glorious rosters before when the US judiciary has handled similar cases. But in all of the previous cases, we have turned out to be innocent.

Our competent authorities have promised probes every time foreigners have got specific enough - there were times when they even identified companies by name. Although the authorities have forgotten to share with us the findings, we can say that our officials are clean and the charges against them groundless because we have not seen anybody being disciplined.

Of course, publishing the results of such investigations will better refute those unfair charges. And it will convince the suspicious minds at home not to be misled by foreign rumors.

This could very likely be another case where Chinese officials have been wrongly accused. But the judiciary should come up with evidence to prove that - and sue the accusers of libel.