Abolition of anti-corruption saving account triggers debate
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-22 17:01

Just like their creation five years ago, the abolition of the anti-corruption accounts in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has again sparked a heated debate nationwide.

The anti-corruption saving accounts are set for officials to deposit bribed money anonymously in the designated Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China. In this way the money can be retrieved while the officials' faces are saved.

The Heilongjiang provincial government put an end to the anti-corruption accounts on November 30 and ordered all the money and valuable articles accepted in bribes be handed in to discipline and supervision authorities within a prescribed time frame.

The cancelled accounts, named "581 accounts" sometime, meaning "I refuse it," were initiated by Ningbo City of the affluent eastern Zhejiang Province in 2000. Following Ningbo, a few provinces adopted similar measures as a new attempt to fight corruption.

Now, provinces including Heilongjiang and Zhejiang, have repealed the accounts successively, triggering raucous debate.

"The account violates our law," said Qu Wenyong, a professor with the sociology department of Heilongjiang University.

According to Chinese laws, bribery and embezzlement can bring corrupt officials severe penalties. However, by depositing the bribes into the anonymous accounts, the officials are excused of punishment, Qu said.

"The account actually serves as a shelter for corruption," said Qu.

Furthermore, its establishment is not in line with China's depositing regulations, which demand the depositor offer his or her real name.

In articles posted to the Northeast Web in Heilongjiang, netizens said there was no sense in opening such an anti-corruption account since officials were required to reject any bribe.

They also noted that anti-corruption accounts might be taken advantage of and prompt corrupt officials to take more bribes accidentally.

They were also afraid that officials might deposit a small portion of the bribes while pocketing the greater part. They could still get a receipt as evidence of their honesty, since the anonymous deposits fail to give a clear record of the sum and the depositor.

"In this way, the anti-corruption accounts actually serve as a refuge for the corrupted officials," one netizen said.

Yet, some hold the opposite view. They believe that the accounts can give some officials an opportunity to start with a clean slate.

"The accounts have contributed their bit to the fight against corruption in the past five years," said Guo Zhihui, head of the anti-corruption office of Heilongjiang provincial government, noting that the deposits have topped 10 million yuan (1.2 million US dollars).

Due to lack of supporting laws, however, these accounts have also shown loopholes. "That's why we called them off," Guo said.

Last year, a national anti-corruption research group suggested that the country set up a real-name depositing system and family assets reporting system in an effort to attack the root of corruption.