A leading state-run newspaper's controversial editorial that said the mainland had no choice but to accept a considerable level of corruption came under fire from another party-run paper and internet users.
China Youth Daily, an organ of the Communist Youth League, yesterday slammed an editorial that ran on Tuesday in the Chinese edition of the Global Times, a nationalist tabloid run by party mouthpiece People's Daily.
The rare public spat between two state media outlets and the fierce public criticism came at a politically sensitive time, with the party gearing up for a once-in-a-decade power transition this autumn. The party is also dealing with the unfolding political scandal surrounding the abrupt sacking of Chongqing party boss and Politburo member Bo Xilai, who is accused of 'violating party discipline' - a euphemism for corruption.
The Global Times had said the public should show more understanding and forbearance towards government corruption, as the time was not yet ripe for the country to completely rid itself of the problem.
It said corruption was a disease that could never be cured completely in any country, and that neither political reform nor the introduction of Western-style democracy could eliminate it.
The editorial called 'naive' those who believed democracy was a solution to graft, saying 'there are many democratic countries in Asia, such as Indonesia, the Philippines and India where the problem of corruption is more severe than in China'.
The China Youth Daily, in an editorial published yesterday, ridiculed the Global Times, saying that its point of view would make people 'goggle-eyed and agape'.