China frames anti-corruption system for clean government

China is constituting its anti-corruption system putting education, system construction and supervision at its core in the context of the developing market economy, reported Monday's China Daily.

The system, adding regular analysis of the performance of leading officials, lays equal stress on punishment and prevention to combat corruption in government departments, said the paper.

The supervisory system must be strengthened to restrict officials' abuse of power while the laws and regulations related to combating corruption are established, said Zhu Xudong, director of the Research Institute under the Central Discipline Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"There should be strict supervision of major government departments in order to prevent leading officials from misusing their power," said Zhu at a conference entitled Strengthening the Punishment and Prevention Mechanism of Anti-Corruption organized by the Supreme People's Procuratorate in Beijing over the weekend.

He pointed out that supervision must be intensified in the selection of officials, and operation of financial capital and state-owned assets, adding that legal measures, auditing and supervision all have a role to play.

Highlighting the importance of the legal system, Professor Wang Mu from the China University of Politics and Law said a seamless system must be established to supervise government officials, including senior officials.

In the long run, life-long education promoting good behavior and honesty from childhood will help create a sound social environment for clean government, said Cheng Wenhao from the School of Public Management in Tsinghua University.

Corruption has been on the rise since China launched its reform and opening drive in the late 1970s.

From 1998 to 2003, 36 officials at provincial and ministerial level were involved in corruption cases. Six officials at provincial and ministerial level and 537 officials above county level were punished for corruption in 2003.

China's fight against corruption is also being assisted by international organizations, like the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

As China continues its rapid socio-economic transformation, transparent and efficient government becomes increasingly imperative to create an equal and fair society for all people, said Renaud Meyer, deputy resident representative of UNDP's China Office.

"We support China's efforts to develop a balanced and effective anti-corruption system," said Renaud Meyer at the conference.

From 2002, UNDP launched a three-year legal system reform project to assist the nation's court, procuratorate and public security authorities to adopt and implement new rules and policies in deepening the legal system reform. Anti-corruption is an important part of the project.

Thanks to the project, a working guideline on advocacy on the prevention of corruption has been formulated and key prosecutors from the anti-corruption bureaux of the procuratorates have been trained to enhance their legal skills and professionalism.

"Our programs support the government's efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability within the civil service and the judiciary through the development of specific anti-corruption legislation and codes of conduct and through independent mechanisms for oversight, monitoring and enforcement." Meyer said.

With the UNDP's support, China actively participated in the drafting of the UN Convention on Anti-Corruption and signed the convention in December last year.