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Lawmakers Call for Tighter Supervision of Customs
Discussing a piece of legislation to give more power to the customs to help them crack down harder on smuggling, Chinese lawmakers also voiced concern Tuesday that their behavior should be more closely monitored.
"Of the most serious smuggling cases uncovered so far, some involved senior customs officers," said Tao Siju, member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, citing recent notorious cases in Zhanjiang and Ningbo, two coastal cities in south China.
"Many customs officials have participated in the crime of smuggling or colluded with smugglers," said Tao, who is a former minister of public security.
"The anti-smuggling fight is not only a matter of power and equipment, but is also related to the conduct of customs officials," he warned.
He proposed that more stipulations should be provided for the supervision of customs officers, as well as measures to prevent and punish their deeds of malfeasance.
Huang Changxi, another member of the NPC Standing Committee, pointed out that the draft amendments to the customs law entitled customs officers to the same rights executed by public security bodies regarding arrest, detention and other means to restrict the personal freedom of individual citizens. Senior customs officers, with authorization, may detain a person as long as 48 hours.
"But the legal procedures on the supervision of customs and their powerful senior officers are far from being clear in this draft," Huang said.
He went on to say that according to the draft, customs officers are subject to supervision by prosecutors, but a customs officer may cover regions under the jurisdiction of different procuratorates.
"The existing draft also fails to clarify which procuratorate should be responsible for the judicial surveillance," he said.
"Customs are an important government body that ensures sound economic order for the country," said another lawmaker, Zhang Haoruo, noting that "if they do not behave well, they may bring about great losses, as proved by experience."
He proposed that customs heads should be regularly inspected by prosecutors or government disciplinary bodies, and important customhouses should be audited periodically too.
Other lawmakers said that there should be a separate chapter in the law specifying measures to monitor the behavior of heads of customs, for instance publicizing the list of the cargo he or she passes each day.
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