Sustained Efforts Called for Anti-Corruption Move: People's Daily

The People's Daily publishes a commentary Thursday calling for sustained efforts to fight corruption after the country uncovered the Xiamen smuggling case.

The article says that the notorious case involved huge sums of illegally procured money and it has done great harm to the country. The successful handling of the case has effectively curbed the widespread smuggling and corruption.

Records show that crime king Lai Changxing and his gang smuggled 53 billion yuan (about 6.6 billion U.S. dollars) worth of goods in three years, evading 30 billion yuan (about 3.7 billion U. S. dollars) of customs duty.

Lai and his followers tried all available means to bribe some Party and governmental officials, who in return provided protection for them. This, the article points out, is also a crime.

Corruption and smuggling are two malignant tumors growing together, the article says, adding that the only way to wipe out smuggling is to eliminate corruption.

The collapse of Lai's smuggling empire demonstrates again that the Communist Party of China will fight resolutely against corruption and smuggling, and smugglers will be punished according to law, the article adds.

It continues to say that the fight will be a long and difficult one, and it will affect the overall development of China's modernization, and reform and opening up.

It concludes that the trust of the people will be maintained through the building of a clean government.






People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/