Party officials' finances will remain a dirty secret, analysts predict

Despite increasing calls for officials to reveal their personal assets, the central government is unlikely to mandate public disclosure for fear that most cadres would be found to have ill-gotten wealth, analysts said.

Disclosure of officials' assets has been discussed since at least 1994, when the idea was first proposed at the National People's Congress. But calls for their disclosure have recently risen to a fever pitch in the wake of a series of scandals and media reports that have raised questions about the huge fortunes amassed by party leaders.

Many officials, including disgraced former Politburo member Bo Xilai , have been exposed by the party's own disciplinary apparatus. Overseas media investigations into the family fortunes of the most powerful leaders, including Premier Wen Jiabao and incoming president Xi Jinping , have fed the perception that more disclosure is needed.

The pressure has become so great that Shanghai party chief Yu Zhengsheng - tipped to ascend to the Politburo's elite Standing Committee - told reporters on the sidelines of the 18th party congress last week that he would be happy to publicly disclose his personal assets if the central government required it.

Meanwhile, his Guangdong counterpart, Wang Yang , who is generally viewed as being among the party's more reform-minded members, said that he was exploring ways to require disclosure at the provincial level.

Still, experts such as retired official Yao Jianfu said it was extremely unlikely that the party would subject its tens of millions of cadres to such public scrutiny. The problem is that corruption is so pervasive, everyone would be implicated.