Can an Oath Keep Government Officials Corruption-Proof? – Beijing Review

20060704_A74.jpg From the Forum column of Beijing Review magazine, interestingly (downed) Shanghai’s top boss also pledged to fight corruption and graft during the swirling torrent of pension funds scandal:

In mid-August in Hefei, east China’s Anhui Province, over 150 major officials of the city’s Baohe District attended a ceremony in the local memorial temple for Bao Zheng, a famous dedicated and honest official dating back 1,000 years, swearing to be “clean, honest and incorruptible.”

But as the magazine wisely asks its readers:

Will the oath-taking result in squeaky-clean officials? Those who appreciate it believe that as one of the means to promote the professional ethics of civil servants, such activities can be a helpful supplement to anti-corruption laws and regulations. Others criticize such activities as window dressing, which will not solve the corruption dilemma.

See also an op-ed in the Financial Times by Pei Minxin:

The sudden sacking of Chen Liangyu, the Communist party boss of Shanghai and a member of the powerful politburo, for alleged involvement in a pensions scandal has exposed the twin fault-lines in China’s political economy: fragile unity among the ruling elites and pervasive official corruption.

Much of Mr Chen’s case remains murky. The evidence provided by the Chinese government for his dismissal is so sketchy that cynics might treat this case as just another example of unremitting rivalry within the Chinese leadership; especially because the political demise of Mr Chen, rumoured to have fallen foul of his senior colleagues in Beijing, has long been expected. [Full text]

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