Grind 'small coffers' to eternal dust
The central government began a campaign against "small coffers" recently. Similar attempts in past have ended in failure. "Little coffers" are hotbeds of corruption, and the government should bust them, says an article of Chinese Business View. Excerpt:
In recent years, the National Audit Office (NAO) has audited the accounts of several crucial departments and found that "small coffers" were a common phenomenon and the amount involved was staggering.
Most of the public funds from the "small coffers" are spent on dinning, buying cars and traveling, and they run into billions of yuan. "Small coffers" are part of some major bribery rackets, too.
The "small coffers" have been a drain on the State exchequer for too long, making a government crackdown imperative.
Earlier crackdowns on the "small coffers" failed ironically because of the lure of the lucre. They failed also because law enforcement officers didn't know what to do when they encountered a situation or issue on which the law was silent or unclear. It is difficult to mete out appropriately harsh punishment to someone on the basis on financial and administrative rules, and that in turn facilitates more corruption.
This time, however, the government has issued a document clearly defining what the "small coffers" are and how those running them should be punished. Besides, public denunciations will be taken more seriously, meaning the operators can no longer find any shelter.
We hope the crackdown on "small coffers" ends this evil practice once and for all, and the government makes the financial system more transparent and strengthens supervision on revenue.
(China Daily 08/28/2009 page9)
