Anti-graft war far from over, says leading Chinese prosecutor

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-09-16

Qiu Xueqiang, deputy secretary of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. (Internet photo)

China must remain steadfast in its sweeping anti-graft campaign or risk a dangerous rebound of corrupt activities, says Qiu Xueqiang, the deputy party secretary of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and a standing committee member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China's top anti-graft watchdog.

In a prominent commentary published Monday in the Study Times, a newspaper run by the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China, Qiu called for Chinese leaders to "steadfastly push forward in the fight against corruption" and warned authorities against falling under the mistaken belief that the country has turned the corner after a slate of high-profile takedowns of former top officials.

While the public has rightfully rejoiced over the spectacular downfalls of retired oil and security tsar Zhou Yongkang, a former member of China's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, and People's Liberation Army general Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the success of the anti-graft campaign has created the illusion of a resounding and tide-turning victory in which all corrupt officials are either fleeing in terror or changing their ways, Qiu wrote.

Many academics are of the view that with the fall of Zhou and Xu, two of the biggest "tigers" to be nabbed for graft in the country's history, anti-graft authorities can now take their foot off the pedal, Qiu said. However, this is the wrong way to go about it as anti-corruption is a long and protracted war, and Chinese leaders must maintain high pressure in tackling both the causes and symptoms of graft or risk things slowly shifting back to the way they were, he added.

One suggestion put forward by those who believe the the campaign has been too excessive is that lower-ranked officials should now be "pardoned" for past crimes committed before the anti-corruption sweep began, as long as they repent and apologize. Qiu believes this is not necessarily fair and is in any event contrary to the rule of law as well as party philosophy, adding that such an approach has "no political foundation, no public support foundation and no logical foundation." President Xi Jinping needs to keep his promise of going after not just high-flying "tigers" but also lowly "flies," he wrote.

Qiu also shot down claims by other academics that the biggest risk to China's anti-graft campaign is that remaining "tigers" will team up to protect their common interests and launch a counterattack by challenging the legitimacy of the actions taken by the country's anti-graft authorities. In Qiu's view, this type of thinking is grossly underestimating the resolve and leadership of China's anti-graft leaders and the power of public opinion. However, he does believe that it is likely that corrupt officials may try to get hold of evidence of crimes committed by their superiors to blackmail them into silence, and that it is important for there to be measures in place to prevent this from happening or else the situation could quickly spiral out of control.

Qiu concludes that China must continue to adopt a "zero tolerance" policy towards corruption at all levels, in particular ensuring that the "red line" for bribery and abuse of power are very clear and prominent. Also important is for authorities to remain vigilant towards vicious rumors and malicious intentions to mislead the public, keeping in mind that enforcement measures need to stick to facts and scientific evidence in order to defend their legitimacy.