China's effective campaign sets model for global anti-corruption cause

BEIJING -- China's crackdown on corruption in the past five years has impressed the world and its resolve to root out the scourge has inspired many in different parts of the world.

Since November 2012, more than 1.5 million corrupt officials have been punished and a total of 440 centrally-administrated senior officials investigated, according to the disciplinary arm of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

While going after corrupt officials including both high-ranking "tigers" to lower-level "flies" on the domestic front, Beijing has also carried out such operations as "Sky Net" and "Fox Hunt" to hunt down venal officials who have fled abroad.

Such endeavors, observers say, are helping China march toward the final victory of its anti-corruption drive, and have offered valuable experiences for other countries.

ROLE MODEL

China's campaign has made it increasingly difficult for corrupt officials to evade justice, and that represents a critical factor leading to the final victory against corruption, noted Xulio Rios, director of Spain's Observatory of Chinese Politics.

Judging by what China has achieved in fighting corruption, the country is clearly in the front rank of the global cause against foul practices of abusing public posts for personal gains, he added.

Cambodia's top graft-buster, Om Yentieng, attributed the effectiveness of China's anti-corruption campaign to Chinese President Xi Jinping's zero-tolerance against corruption and the Chinese people's strong support.

"With President Xi's unwavering political commitment, it seems that the culture of zero-tolerance against corruption has become ingrained in the psyche of the Chinese people," he told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"This is a role model for other countries, including Cambodia," added Yentieng, who heads Cambodia's Anti-Corruption Unit.

The whole world looks with admiration to China's anti-corruption campaign, said Mahmoud Raya, manager of Beirut-based news website "China In Arab's Eyes."

China's successful experiences in fighting corruption can be an example for all the other countries aspiring to get rid of corruption, said Raya.

Alexey Maslov, a professor with the Oriental Studies Department at the Russian Higher School of Economics Research University, told Xinhua that China's anti-corruption campaign serves as a reference to Russia.

It is a long-term mission with clear plans and mechanisms, which can be carried out through all local party branches, he noted, adding that without such a mechanism, the government could only punish corrupt individuals without really eliminating the problem.

INSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEE

During its ongoing annual session, the National People's Congress of China, the country's top legislature, will deliberate a draft supervision law designed to lay a legal foundation for an upgraded anti-graft taskforce.

Upon adoption of the law, a new supervisory network would be established, consisting of supervisory commissions at the national, provincial, municipal and county levels, with legally defined duties and protocols.

China's supervisory network reform will boost the country's efforts to fight corruption and thus benefit its economic development, Teddy Kaberuka, an economic analyst in Rwanda, told Xinhua.

The new setup would sustain China's achievements in the anti-corruption campaign, he said, adding that a strong anti-corruption institution is very important for the country's economic development.

With the proposed reform of the country's anti-corruption system, the CPC and the Chinese government are rapidly translating the resolve against corruption into realities, said Luxman Siriwardena, executive director of Pathfinder Foundation, a think tank in Sri Lanka.

China's effective approach against corrupt officials offers a great lesson for Sri Lanka, which is also a developing country, he said, adding that efforts should be taken to ensure that corruption will never be a stumbling block for the overall development of a country.