Corruption in China

[politicsezine]

Government officials covering up murder? Sounds pretty commonplace in China:

TheStar.com | World | Girl's death inflames China

 

[Gunny]

Corruption in China

No way.

 

[we_ourselves]

Corruption is the inevitable effect of a strategy of building socialism in a single country instead of advancing the world revolution.

 

[waltky]

Granny says lotsa luck with dat one...

China Vows to Fight Corruption As Congress Opens
March 04, 2013 - China's government promised to fight corruption, improve the environment and grow the economy as its annual parliamentary session got underway Tuesday.

Thousands of delegates from across the country have gathered amid heavy security in Beijing for the 13-day session of the National People's Congress that will complete China's once-a-decade leadership change. Outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao delivered his last government work report at the opening session. He said China faces a difficult task in correcting China's unbalanced economic growth and income disparity. "Economic development is increasingly in conflict with resource conservation and environmental protection," he said. "The development gap between urban and rural areas and between regions is large, and so are income disparities between individuals."

Mr. Wen said the economic growth target for China this year is 7.5 percent, similar to last year, and that the government will fight to curb inflation. Defense spending will increase by almost 11 percent. During the meeting of the largely ceremonial congress, Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping will formally take over the presidency from Hu Jintao. Li Keqiang will succeed Mr. Wen as prime minister. China's new leadership faces an increasingly vocal population that is calling for action on issues such as corruption, pollution, and human rights.

One delegate at the congress, Jin Zhanzhong, says many people in his rural province of Liaoning want the Communist Party to fight corruption. "Rural people pay great attention to the problem of corruption. Our party has the ability and the leadership to manage the party and to develop the country," he said. In his speech, Mr. Wen promised the government would "unwaveringly" fight corruption, a problem that the Communist Party has recently said could threaten its hold on power. Mr. Wen also promised further efforts to restore China's battered environment, saying Beijing should focus on reducing energy consumption, improving conservation and solving air, soil and water pollution.

Source

 

[Franticfrank]

Well at least they are trying to improve the situation. Remember when Yang Dacai was photographed smiling at the scene of a fatal accident? He was promptly sacked for 'serious wrongdoing.' China is also moving to eliminate wrongdoings in financial circles but there's an awful long way to go to improve things - look at statistics on the least transparent companies worldwide in 2012 and see which ones come last.

 

[ipaps]

Corruption is the inevitable effect of a strategy of building socialism in a single country instead of advancing the world revolution.

Having a looooooooong history of corruption helped, too.

 

[waltky]

China crackin' down on corruption...

Study: Chinese anti-corruption cases quadruple in two years
Over the last two years, probes have targeted local governments and state-run enterprises. The latest round of investigations have focused on financial institutions.

According to political consultants with the Eurasia Group, China's leadership will continue to lead a larger number of anti-corruption investigations. So far this year, China's Central Communist Party has initiated 83 probes of alleged corruption. That's more than quadruple the number of investigations undertaken in 2013. "These actions have sent the strong message to senior officials and executives that if they do not assist Xi's reform agenda, they will find themselves in the cross-hairs of his anti-graft authorities," analysts Erica Downs and Evan Medeiros wrote in a new report on the subject. As the Wall Street Journal reports, some Chinese business experts suggest the anti-graft investigations have some businesses in China frightened -- scared to make deals.

China's Communist Party has issued a long-awaited plan for overhauling bloated state industries that would retain the party's dominance in the economy. Pictured, a China Merchants Bank branch in Beijing​

There have allegedly been concerns voiced from within the Communist Party that the investigations could hamper economic growth in the nation of 1.39 billion people. But Downs, Medeiros and their partners at Eurasia Group believe the investigations will have long-term positive benefits, which is why they believe the investigations are here to stay. Over the last two years, probes have targeted local governments and state-run enterprises. The latest round of investigations have focused on financial institutions. "Never before has a single sector been so deliberately targeted in a single inspection round," report authors wrote.

Earlier this week, billionaire Guo Guangchang, one of China's most powerful financial tycoons, was picked up by authorities at Shanghai's airport after flying in from Hong Kong. It's not clear whether Guo is being investigated for corruption or assisting investigators in a separate probe. Even if corruption probes help bloated state-run businesses become more competitive in the long run, stock markets in Asia could suffer from growing anxieties in the short term. Hong Kong trading was suspended on Thursday after Guo was reported to be missing.

Study: Chinese anti-corruption cases quadruple in two years

 

[waltky]

Corruption crackdown continues in China...

China to prosecute two former senior officials for graft
Wed, Jan 20, 2016 - Chinese authorities are to prosecute two former senior officials for corruption, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said yesterday.

Former Shanghai Vice Mayor Ai Baojun took gifts, exchanged power for sex and “sought benefits” for relatives in business dealings, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said. He also frequented private clubs and golf courses, it said — two activities party members are barred from due to the reputation both have as places for shady dealings.

Ai has been expelled from the party and his case handed over to legal authorities, the watchdog added, meaning he is to be prosecuted. Ai had headed the committee that runs the Shanghai Free Trade Zone since its launch in September 2013.

The second ex-official is Civil Aviation Administration of China former deputy head Zhou Laizhen. The watchdog accused him of taking gifts, exchanging power for sex and helping relatives in business dealings, but said he also used public funds for banquets and personal travel. He has been expelled from the party and is to face prosecution.

China to prosecute two former senior officials for graft - Taipei Times

 

[Indeependent]

Corruption is the inevitable effect of a strategy of building socialism in a single country instead of advancing the world revolution.

Socialism? Get a dictionary.
Fascism.

 

[waltky]

China, Iran clampin' down on corruption...

China says nearly 300,000 punished for corruption in 2015
Mar 6,`16 -- China's ruling Communist Party said Sunday that it punished nearly 300,000 officials for corruption last year.

The party's official watchdog body said that 200,000 of those were given light punishments and 82,000 handed severe penalties, including demotions within the bureaucracy. The body known as the Central Committee for Discipline Inspection rarely explains its methodology or what evidence it considers, and no other details were given in the brief statement posted on its website.

President Xi Jinping has pressed a massive nationwide probe of corruption among officials of all ranks, including those in the party, government, military and state-run industries. Hundreds of thousands of officials have been interviewed in the campaign, but only a small number have been identified. An independent database lists 1,567 as having been investigated, expelled from the party or sentenced.

Among the highest-level targets of the campaign was Zhou Yongkang, the head of a rival power network and former member of the party's inner sanctum, the Politburo Standing Committee, who was sentenced last year to life in prison for corruption.

News from The Associated Press

See also:

Iranian billionaire sentenced to death
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 - Billionaire Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani has been sentenced to death on corruption charges, justice officials say.

He was arrested in December 2013 after accusations that he withheld billions in oil revenue channelled through his companies. He denies the allegations. Zanjani was convicted of fraud and economic crimes, a judiciary spokesperson said at a press briefing. Two others were also sentenced to death and all were ordered to repay embezzled funds.

One of Iran's richest men, Zanjani had been blacklisted by the US and EU for helping Iran evade oil sanctions in place at the time. He had acknowledged using a web of companies in the UAE, Turkey, and Malaysia to sell millions of barrels of Iranian oil on behalf of the government since 2010. Before his arrest, Zanjani had claimed international sanctions were preventing him from handing over $1.2bn still owed to the government.

He was taken into custody a day after President Hassan Rouhani ordered his government to fight "financial corruption", particularly "privileged figures" who had "taken advantage of economic sanctions". In a 2013 interview with the BBC, Zanjani played down his political connections in Iran, saying: "I don't do anything political, I just do business." Zanjani has said he is worth about some $13.5bn (£9.5bn).

Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani sentenced to death - BBC News

[/CENTER]

 

[waltky]

A bid to further expand Chinese President Xi Jinping’s campaign to fight corruption...

China gets serious about crackdown on corruption
Monday 30th October, 2017 | In a bid to further expand Chinese President Xi Jinping’s campaign to fight corruption in the ruling Communist Party and government, the party said on Sunday that the country would set up a state anti-corruption unit.

China is aiming at passing a national supervision law and will set up the new commission next year. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the party’s anti-graft watchdog, said in its report that the moves will be made during the country’s annual meeting of parliament early next year. The report was issued by the official Xinhua news agency and released other details on the commission too.

The report said, “All provinces, regions and cities must closely connect regional practices, integrate reform pilot scheme experience, implement the overall plan according to the decision of the party’s Central Committee, and promote organizational integration.” According to the announcement made last year, the new National Supervision Commission will take over from the CCDI and merge multiple anti-graft units.

It will further expand the purview of Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign to include employees at state-backed institutions who are not party members. Jinping’s signature anti-corruption drive has seen jail time or punishment being handed to nearly 1.4 million party members since he came into power in 2012. Jinping has emphasized the importance of improving China’s rule of law architecture.

In his address to the congress, Xi said China would keep up with the “irreversible” momentum of the anti-corruption campaign. He announced a central leading group responsible for overseeing China’s law-based governance. He also said the party will scrap the practice of secretive interrogations known as ‘shuanggui’ in which cadres accused of graft and other disciplinary violations are routinely subjected to extrajudicial detention, isolation and interrogation by the CCDI.

China gets serious about crackdown on corruption