Corruption Taints Every Facet of Life in China
The Los Angeles Times looks at the problem of endemic corruption throughout Chinese society, and what happens to those who try to speak out against it:
Corruption is an everyday experience for millions of Chinese that taints not just schools, but relations in business, on farms and in factories, and potentially any contact citizens have with officialdom. Foshan appears no more corrupt than any other city in China, experts say. It is noteworthy only as an example of a pervasive problem that threatens China’s stability and political system.
Senior Communist Party officials know that decades of remarkable economic progress are at risk if graft and bribery stretch the chasm between the haves and have-nots too wide. But they have limited room to maneuver. Any meaningful effort to crack down endangers the party’s monopoly on power.
The system depends on legions of police, local party and government officials to enforce Beijing’s policies and quash dissent. All too often, critics say, local officials regard their position as a license to steal.
POSTED COMMENTS: 2 Responses
If the opening story is even close to the truth, it’s one of the more disgusting things I’ve heard lately. This article doesn’t have much in it that surprises me, but it’s still a hell of an article. Just hope the author can still report from China after this.
If you consider this a hell of an article then you haven’t read my articles.