Cleaner house means swatting 'flies'

Lower level corrupt officials support and help each other for common security forming alliances that stain governance

Recent reports that Ma Chaoqun, a branch manager for the tap water monopoly in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, was found to be hoarding in his home 120 million yuan ($19.6 million) in banknotes, 37 kilograms of gold, plus certificates showing ownership of 68 properties, sent shockwaves nationwide.

An investigation found he was long known for demanding bribes from people, and would threaten to cut off their water supply if they refused to pay.

Closer observance will show that a majority of these so-called "flies" (lower level corrupt officials) breed on monopolies that control the resources, such as tap water and electricity, which residents and enterprises need. Should their demands for illegal gain be refused, they abuse their power to cut the supply of these utilities, which might cause millions of yuan in losses for an enterprise and inconvenience or harm to the health of a resident. That is why residents and enterprises without any power to resist usually choose to pay instead of complaining.

Many argue that even inside a monopoly there are mechanisms to deal with complaints; however, in reality such mechanisms seldom work. Due to the lack of market competition, the inner supervisors of a monopoly become part of it, too, and there is no motivation for them to take complaints seriously. Reports say some victims tried to complain against Ma but their complaints disappeared without any response.

Actually that is a problem not only of monopolies, but also of the whole bureaucratic system. While citizens encounter enormous difficulties in sending a complaint or corruption clues about lower level officials to higher authorities, the latter often find the implementation of their orders are distorted by lower officials pursuing their own interests.

Anti-graft researchers like me often get letters of petition from citizens, who include clues to low-level officials' corruption in the letters with the hope we will transfer them to higher authorities. That's silent testimony to the failure of the current anti-graft system.