Power by the rules not by any kind of kinship

More than 300 officials in Meishan, Southwest China's Sichuan province, have made an open pledge that they will not seek "nominal kinship", the making of acquaintances and connections with non-relatives. This follows a local ban which forbids members of the Communist Party of China of using the time-honored tradition. Comments:

Once public power is involved in "kinship", civil servants may feel morally responsible for their "kin", even violating Party regulations to meet their requests. Those in non-blood kinship with high-ranking officials might end up being power brokers who infringe on public interests for their own gains. The Meishan government's ban on nominal kinship not only deals a blow to the potential trade between power and money, but also protects local officials from corruption.

rednet.cn, July 25