China’s ratification of the UN Convention Against Corruption is the latest wrinkle in a three-year anti-corruption campaign that included an “audit storm” to scrutinize official spending. However, as Mark DeWeaver points out, it appears that the leadership had other motives besides purifying society: most of those prosecuted were cronies of ex-president Jiang Zemin, and the campaigns were conducted when the government needed to cool the economy anyway.
See the two related Asia Times articles: “Hidden motives in anti-corruption campaign” and “China ratifies UN anti-corruption convention.”
