Western anti-graft push threatens democracy efforts
Robert Precht says US anti-bribery law is counterproductive in China
The efforts of some Western countries to enforce their own anti-bribery laws in China are more likely to produce false accusations and hinder democratic reform than reduce corruption.
According to news reports last month, the US Department of Justice has targeted Microsoft and The Wall Street Journal for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 1977 law which makes it a crime for US organisations to make payments, however small, to foreign government officials in order to secure any kind of decision in their favour. The law applies to, among others, US companies, universities, foundations and non-profit organisations. Britain has a similar law that applies to British organisations working in China.
US investigators are looking into allegations from tipsters in China that Microsoft made gifts to officials in return for software contracts and that The Wall Street Journal made payments to officials to obtain information for news articles.
Bribery or giving gifts to officials is common practice in China. When I was running a human rights programme in Beijing on behalf of a New York-based non-profit, I was asked to give cash to Chinese university professors (government employees) to help my staff obtain proper visas and to officials in charge of approving company registrations.
Most frequently the machinery of bribery involves using "brokers" to get various tasks done.
My experiences were not unique. Friends and colleagues who also work in Beijing with US organisations - law firms, companies, foundations, universities - all have stories about making gifts to secure some favorable decision from a government bureaucrat.