Guangdong closes bribe-deposit accounts in anti-graft drive

GUANGZHOU - Guangdong, China's economic powerhouse on the country's southern seaboard, has become the latest province to scrap the special accounts created for officials to anonymously deposit bribe payments that they had accepted.

The provincial discipline inspection committee, in a regulation released recently, called on its officials to be "clean, and turn down any bribes, be they gifts or gift cards."

"The accounts send the wrong message -- some officials and cadres may think that it is OK to accept gift cards or 'Hongbao' [the red envelope,]" said an official with the committee. "From now on, all these accounts will be closed and any bribe payments must be returned to the bribers."

Several other provinces including Guizhou, Sichuan, Gansu and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have also recently dropped the accounts, following the release of strict rules on the conduct of the Communist Party of China members.

Starting from January this year, a revised regulation issued by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee banned officials from accepting gifts, money or gift cards.

According to the regulation, if accepting the bribe is unavoidable, the money must be handed over to the discipline inspection authority along with the real names of those involved, when the bribe is given and the location among other details.

Those who fail to hand in the bribes in a timely fashion will be punished accordingly, it said.