By Wu Jiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-04 08:23

In times of unpredictable global weather, Li Jinhua has for the past five years - on cue - generated a storm in summer.

Li, auditor-general of the China National Audit Office (CNAO), has become a national icon for what the media has dubbed the "annual auditing storm" targeting irregular spending by government departments.

Looking back, Li said that publicity and transparency are the best cure for corruption and bureaucratic procedures.

"Revenues come from taxpayers. We should explain to them how the money is spent," said Li, who has served as the top auditor since 1998.

For the past five years, Li has reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on problems concerning government departments' budgets. Li said some departments are still not comfortable with their irregularities being aired in public "but a sunshine policy is the best disinfectant against corruption".

Working together with judicial authorities and discipline watchdogs, audit offices across the country have made great headway in combating corruption, according to Li.

Over the past five years, they audited 592,000 units and helped save or recover 19.19 billion yuan ($2.67 billion).

They transferred 2,847 cases involving 4,370 people to judicial departments; and 5,509 cases involving 7,672 people were reported to disciplinary watchdogs.

"The audit offices not only catch the 'thieves' but also see to it that they return the money and are punished," said Wang Xiongjun, a researcher on governance with Peking University.

The "audit storms" have proved effective in making government departments mend their ways but the process has not been smooth, as some departments refuse to cooperate.

Faced with such difficulties, Li said he relies on his sense of responsibility for the people and the backup of law to do his job.

Li stressed that the main reason for the progress in the audit endeavor is that "the country has witnessed a major change in the leadership's mindset, which emphasizes the rule of law".

The national attention Li commands today was not as evident when he took up the post of auditor-general.

But things started to chance since June 23, 2003, he said.

On that day, Li submitted an audit report on implementation of central departments' budgets and other revenues and expenditures to the NPC Standing Committee. Several embezzlement cases involving governmental departments came to light.

The report put huge pressure on anti-corruption agencies to take concrete action; and for the next four years the auditors kept reporting to the NPC Standing Committee every year.

Gradually, most government departments submitted detailed plans to rectify problems to which the executive meetings of the State Council paid close attention.

But, Li said, "audit storms alone cannot address the issue. Rule of law is the best way to ensure the system is sound."

Asked how many marks he would give himself for achievements in office, Li paused and said: 70 out of 100.

Many would say that is too modest.