Fighting corruption will be a long, difficult campaign

The anti-corruption campaign will be a hard struggle, said an editorial in Beijing News (excerpts below).

"Fighting corruption might hurt the development of local economy." The opinion has long been popular among local officials; it is becoming popular again in the current anti-corruption campaign.

That worry is evidently unnecessary. Economic development is not dependent on certain officials; on the contrary, corrupt officials will cause long-term harm.

Of course, the fight against corruption will hurt — it will hurt the officials.

Recent cases reveal that corruption often happens with groups of officials breaking the law together; they protect each other.

The anti-corruption campaign will be long and hard, and it requires the boldness and wisdom of our leaders to continue amid all kinds of resistance.