Combating Corruption and Promoting Clean and Honest Government

This is the focus of discussion among NPC deputies and CPPCC members at the ongoing NPC and CPPCC sessions. A report titled "Severely Punishing Corruption According to Law, Establishing Clean and Honest Government", written by Our Staff Reporters Chen Lujun, Zhao Chuandong, Hong Yan and Zhang Fan, is carried on page 4 of today's People's Daily .Following are excerpts of the report.

At noon March 8, the CCTV broadcast in its "30-Minute News" program the court decision on the serious case of Hu Changqing: Hu Changqing, former deputy governor of Jiangxi Province, was executed according to law. This news immediately evoked strong repercussion among NPC deputies and CPPCC members attending the "two sessions", they focused their discussion on the topic of combating corruption and promoting clean and honest government, and contributed their ideas and suggestions in connection with the Government Work Report.

Severe Punishment Is a Sharp Sword: "Popular Indignation Wouldn't Be Assuaged Without Killing Hu Changqing"

NPC deputies and CPPCC members agreed that investigating and dealing with serious cases represent the most direct and intense trial of strength between the Party and government on the one hand and corrupt elements on the other, it is a major breakthrough made in the struggle against corruption, as well as an important criterion for judging whether the struggle is thorough and effective. Corrupt elements must be severely punished according to law. The fact that Hu Changqing, a "big vermin", was ferreted out and subjected to heavy penalty once again demonstrates the firm attitude adopted by the Party and government in the fight against corruption and their confidence in winning sure victory.

CPPCC member Wang Xiang from Jiangxi said: "In Jiangxi, an economically undeveloped place, Hu Changqing, who alone embezzled and took bribes worth several million yuan, deserves a capital punishment, popular indignation wouldn't be assuaged without killing him!"

NPC deputy Wang Yingxue from Guizhou Province said: exposing and heavily punishing criminals such as Hu Changqing show that the Party and government absolutely do not shield faults and can solve their own problems. Anyone, no matter how high his position and how eminent his post, will be given punishment he deserves if only he commits crimes.

NPC deputy Gu Changchun, former vice-chairman of the Jilin provincial people's congress standing committee, said: judging from the exposed situation regarding the case of Hu Changqing, the situation regarding his crimes is bad, the volume of money involved in the case is huge, which is really shocking. China is currently in the period of a social change, Party and government officials are faced with lots of temptation, plus "vacuums" in the supervision and control system, so cases of corruption have frequently occurred. Regarding this, we should not feel surprised, but should have adequate understanding of the seriousness of corruption, because it concerns the life and death of the Party and State.

Education Is the Foundation: the Key Lies in Teaching Cadres to Firmly Establish a Sense of Public Servants, the Realm of Being Self-Dignified and Self-Examined and the Consciousness of Being Self-Vigilant and Self-Encouraging.

Speaking about the need to step up efforts put into the fight against corruption, NPC deputies said that the key to combating corruption and promoting clean and honest government, lies in firmly grasping the educational work and in the need for Party and government cadres to plant deeply in their minds the idea of being honest in handling government affairs, education is the foundation for combating corruption and encouraging clean and honest government.

Deputy Ma Wanling from Henan Province said: Anti-corruption is not our aim, but is our means; our starting-point and aim lie in properly educating and managing our cadres. Ours is the people's government, being honest in performing our official duties is the minimal requirement. A Party or government cadre with a high consciousness of morality and a realm of ideology will not practice corruption. The present crucial task is to properly educate cadres, requiring that they firmly establish a sense of being public servants, a realm of being self-possessed and self-examined and the consciousness of being self-vigilant and self-encouraging, then, they simply won't think of matters that violate the interests of the people.

It is extremely important to energetically explore and create a set of effective methods for doing ideological-political work under the new situation. CPPCC member Zuo Lianbi, former vice-minister of supervision, stated: It is a very good method to launch the "three-emphasis" education among leading cadres at and above the county level. In the "three-emphasis" educational campaign, it has proved effective to integrate Party building, ideology and style of work, the fight against corruption and for clean and honest government, so experiences gained in this education campaign should be summed up and be put into use in the routine work relating to Party building. NPC deputy Hong Yongshi, secretary of the Xiamen city Party committee, deemed it necessary to carry out education in the outlook on life and value among Party-member cadres, admonishing them that being cadres absolutely is not aimed at seeking easy way of living and making fortune. NPC deputy, secretary of the Suzhou city Party committee in Anhui Province, also said: Party- member cadres should take the principle of wholehearted service to the people as the foundation for getting on in society. Ancient Chinese officials could be "the first to worry and the last to enjoy comfort", not to say cadres of the Communist Party!

System Is Guarantee: Rules and Regulations Should Be Established to Eradicate Soil for the Breeding of Corruption

Perfecting the preventive system and restrictive mechanism of supervision is an important guarantee for combating corruption and encouraging clean and honest government. Some NPC deputies and CPPCC members stressed the need to set up rules and regulations to guarantee that corrupt elements have no chance to gain ill-gotten money, if they do so they will immediately be discovered and stopped..

NPC deputy Lu Ruihua, governor of Guangdong Province, said: Centered around the topic of establishing clean and honest government, Guangdong will, while comprehensively implementing the principle that "administrative charges and income from imposition of fines and confiscation of funds should be managed by 'separating revenue from expenditures'", continue to perfect the system of supervision over government performance and tackle the establishment of tangible construction market, land-lease market and property right swap market, striving to curb corruption from its fountainhead.

"In grasping the establishment of clean and honest government, the emphasis is on raising the level of administration according to law.". NPC deputy Wang Ping said: Performing administration and managing "officials" according to law, using legal means to regulate the performance of administration, so as to subject administrative officials to legal restraint, this is the way to effectively prevent the abuse of administrative power and prevent the public power entrusted by the people from being transformed into personal power.

Some NPC deputies and CPPCC members also actively offer their ideas and suggestions concerning the innovation of system and mechanism. CPPCC member Professor Yu Ronggen, director of Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, said that the establishment of a judicial system characterized by vertical leadership should be taken as the objective of reform, currently, courts and procuratorates in various localities are subjected to local restriction in the aspects of human, financial and material resources, so local protectionism in judicial organizations is hardly avoidable, and the practice of judges handling cases connected with personal relations and money is equally unavoidable, the change of the judicial system into vertical leadership will make it possible to unify judicature and prevent judicial localization, and better realize judicial independence and justice.

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