OPINION> Commentary
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OPINION> Commentary
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Track down the corrupt
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-30 07:21 We should turn the precious anti-corruption experience in the post-quake period to normal practice, says an article in People's Daily. The following is an excerpt: Recently, Wang Anwu, the head of the food bureau of Xixiang county, Shannxi province, was suspended from his post and was under investigation for embezzling the emergency food for quake-struck victims. The speed at which Wang's case was dealt with was very fast, rarely seen in normal times. Wang is not alone in having been dealt with quickly. Before him, four officials in Lueyang county, Shannxi province, were also punished by the local discipline departments not long after they, using their power, seized the tents that should have been handed out to quake victims. As the Sichuan provincial discipline and prosecution departments said on June 6, within a month of post-quake work, Sichuan punished 41 local officials, eight among them county-level ones. Some would say that only when special measures are adopted can special effects be achieved in this post-quake critical moment. The attention of the whole country to this massive quake stimulates the anti-corruption work and makes it the top of the agenda of government work. Anti-corruption work thus has made great strides due to the supervision of the whole society. Of course, the anti-corruption work involves special measures in the post-quake period because of the special social and political contexts. But we wonder whether the experience of anti-corruption work in the post-quake period can be drawn on by the anti-corruption in normal times and whether the effective social supervision system in the quake areas can be duplicated in other places. Special as the background is, the anti-corruption work in the post-quake period copes with the same thing as in normal times. We cannot tolerate in normal times those cases that took place in the post-quake period, such as the embezzlement of disaster relief fund and materials. Still, we would expect the law-enforcers to adopt the same responsible and timely attitude in cracking down upon the corruption cases in normal times. If we can sum up the special anti-corruption measures in the post-quake period, it would contribute to the establishment and improvement of the anti-corruption system in the whole society. These special measures may contain key words like openness and transparency. The open and transparent media coverage of the quake provides the people with ample information, making the media an important force of supervision. The department of discipline, prosecution and auditing monitored the quake relief materials and money, checking the power of local officials. The reports of the masses, the disclosures on the Internet and the investigation by volunteers worked together as a tight supervision network, tracking down corrupt cases such as the seizure of tents even in the remotest resettlement area. The social supervision network including government departments, the media and the masses highlights the anti-corruption work in the post-quake period. (China Daily 06/30/2008 page4) |
