Personal assets data key to difficult reforms

CHINA IS TO ESTABLISH an information system for personal income and assets, according to the 35th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensive Deepening of Reform, a top reform policy generator, in Beijing on Tuesday. Legal Daily comments:

The system will record details of all the income and assets of each individual. It is to be a key part of the anti-graft institutions.

Currently, it takes tremendous efforts for the judicial departments to investigate the income and assets of suspected corrupt officials. Knowing that their assets and income will be under scrutiny, those power holders will have second thoughts before trading power for illegal gains, as it will be very easy to spot such ill-gotten gains once the system is in place.