Government and Policy
Party steps up anti-graft fight
By Xie Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-24 06:46
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Officials must declare marital status change, family living abroad
BEIJING - The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) has ordered its leading officials to report any change in their marital status and immediate family members who are living abroad, in the latest move to fight corruption.
At a meeting presided by President Hu Jintao, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee discussed on Friday an anti-corruption regulation aimed at strengthening management and supervision over officials.
The new regulation requires leading officials at all levels to report any change of spouse and the whereabouts of their spouses and children if they have moved abroad, as well as the personal income, housing and investments of their family members.
The CPC introduced the first regulation requiring its leading officials to report their personal information in 1997 and has continuously updated it.
The fifth plenary session of the CPC's top discipline body added disclosure of information about the housing, investments and employment of officials' spouses and children to the list in January.
"It is very rare for the whole Political Bureau, the top political body, to discuss the regulation," said Ye Duchu, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
The move showed that the CPC is attaching "great importance and value" to this regulation, he said.
"I believe the regulation will play a very important role in curbing corruption," Ye said.
The meeting also deliberated on a tentative regulation on the management of "naked officials", which refers to those whose family members have all gone abroad, the Xinhua News Agency reported, without giving details.
Major scandals in past years have involved corrupt officials or their family members fleeing abroad with ill-gotten gains, often to Western countries where they can avoid prosecution under Chinese law.
About 4,000 corrupt officials fled the country with at least $50 billion between 1978 and 2003, a report by the Ministry of Commerce showed. Many of these officials sent their spouses and children abroad first, before transferring their money from China.
The Ministry of Supervision said earlier this year that a regulation focused on tightening management over officials with their spouses and children abroad will be introduced this year. The Political Bureau required Party organizations at all levels to strengthen management on these officials, protecting their legitimate rights and maintaining their enthusiasm at work at the same time.
Local governments have already started to explore ways to handle this issue.
The Shenzhen government in Guangdong province issued a regulation in November last year, prohibiting "naked officials" from serving as leading officials in major Party and government departments.
No details were given on the setting up of an assets declaration system, which has been expected by the public for some time.
Ye said this is because any such system should be processed by the legislature.
"But I can tell that the CPC Central Committee has made up its mind to push this forward for the fight against corruption," he said.
At Friday's meeting, the top leaders also discussed plans to boost economic development and maintain long-term social stability in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
The meeting stressed that economic and social development in Xinjiang should be pushed forward in a sound and speedy manner. Priority should also be given to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods so that all ethnic groups in the region can live a more prosperous and happy life.
Xinhua contributed to the story.
CHINA DAILY
(China Daily 04/24/2010 page1)
