Anti-graft rules need teeth

General Secretary Hu Jintao placed considerable emphasis on ensuring that anti-corruption measures work during his address to a plenary session of the Communist Party of China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. He envisioned the nation's mechanism against corruption as effective and practical.

It was an incisive point in the authorities' recent rhetoric in the fight against corruption. Years have now passed with a number of new vows and decrees on building a clean government. But people mostly have been hearing similar promising slogans that have done little more than state and restate the national leaders' resolve to keep corruption under control.

The result is an increasingly "complete" package of rules spelling out the "do's and don'ts" for the CPC and government officials. It's been so complete that some discipline watchdogs are reportedly planning to oversee Party and government functionaries' about after-work activities. So we are not complaining when authorities brag about their achievements in the high-profile crusade against corruption.