The screen grab of China Central Television shows Jiang Jiemin in court in October.[Photo/CCTV]

In Chinese society there is a strange phenomenon nowadays: People are opposed to and criticize corruption and the lack of honesty, but still acquiesce to, indulge or even participate in corrupt behavior when it comes to their individual interests.

The phenomenon reflects that the "corruption subculture" is prevalent in society. The so-called corruption subculture follows all kinds of unspoken rules, and always tolerates or even indulges people who take advantage of their positions to abuse power for their own interests. And it forms a vicious circle since people resent corruption but don't refuse to engage in corrupt behavior when they can take advantage of it. Some people even admire corrupt officials because they seek illegal personal gains.

The corruption subculture undermines the whole of society because it increases society's tolerance for corruption. The prevalence of tolerance for corruption among the public means the moral bottom line of the whole of society is lowered and corruption spreads. Thus the corruption subculture seriously undermines social fairness and justice, which is harmful to social development.

The government as well as the public should be aware of the harm this corruption subculture can do and curb the spread of such thought.