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Graft strikes at heart of nation's development

Beijing has a huge problem on its hands. The crackdown on organised crime in Chongqing has netted more than 1,500 people, most of them gang members, but also top city officials, businessmen and, most worryingly, hundreds of police officers. Wen Qiang, the director of the municipality's justice bureau and former deputy chief of police, has been the biggest catch. His high-profile arrest, and the manner in which it led to the downfall of those beneath him, appears to be prompting officers elsewhere on the mainland to report their bosses for corruption.

Details that have so far emerged point to Wen having headed a far-reaching protection racket. Investigators had little difficulty finding out who else in the police force was involved; text messages on his mobile phone allayed the need for excessive legwork. Citizens have long complained that police in some parts of the nation are as much involved in crime as preventing it. What has emerged in Chongqing and now Xian - and which seems to be spreading - confirms the allegation.

The fact that the abuses have been revealed is good for the nation. Corruption is the biggest challenge to the country's development. That it is widespread at all levels of society hampers far more than economic growth. Progress towards the rule of law, a fair and transparent judicial system, effective environmental protection and oversight of regulations has been either undermined or prevented.

Shoddy construction has claimed lives. Health has been damaged by a blind eye being turned to poor industrial practices. People have wrongfully lost property and savings. Rights have been denied. Crimes have been reported and ignored. President Hu Jintao has pledged to eliminate this scourge. His campaign has brought down top provincial officials, mayors and other senior Communist Party brass.

But the fall from grace of Wen and police officers takes the fight in a disturbing direction for the nation's leaders. These are, after all, the people supposed to ensure law and order - or, to use other terminology, the peace and stability Mr Hu speaks of so often that is essential to keep the party in power. The party's concern was evident in the way Wen was arrested earlier this month. It seems to have lost faith in Chongqing's officials. Police officers on the plane carrying Wen back to the city from a meeting in Beijing made the arrest. A posse of police, in two cars and an anti-riot vehicle, was waiting for the flight on the tarmac. A photographer had been posted to record the proceedings.

Police corruption has from time to time been uncovered in towns and villages on the mainland. The scale of the problem in Chongqing has seemingly reached an unprecedented level, though. The city is one of China's biggest population centres and at the epicentre of the government's 'go west' campaign. Graft on this scale must threaten efforts to bring lasting prosperity to regions deep inland.

It also contributes to a sense of growing disorder in mainland China. In the absence of representative government, if there is to be trust in the system, an honest and upstanding police force is essential. The image of the police is inextricably linked with that of the party and the arrests must be a blow to senior leaders.

There can be no better indicator that the mainland lacks the checks and balances provided by an open political system. Police have to be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts, media and society. If corruption is to be eliminated, these have to be put firmly in place.

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