Communist Party must learn from traditional Chinese virtues to tackle corruption, says China’s top graft-buster

China’s ruling Communist Party must learn from the traditional virtues which have defined Chinese culture since ancient time as it tackles corruption, a problem that still hangs “acutely” in front of them, the country's top graft-buster wrote on Friday.

President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping campaign against graft since assuming the party leadership in 2012 and presidency in 2013, warning, like others before him, that the issue is so severe it could affect the party’s grip on power.

Writing in the party’s official newspaper the People’s Daily, Wang Qishan, who is in charge of battling corruption, said the source of the party’s rules on tackling this problem were the morals and virtues passed down through history.

“In a series of important speeches General Secretary Xi Jinping has cited a great number of ancient texts and words from the classics, stressing and lauding the fine traditional culture of the Chinese people which has meaning in the new era,” Wang wrote.

In traditional Chinese culture, morality and law are joined at the hip, rules are observed like rituals and everyone follows them, he said.

The party’s rules on fighting corruption and ancient morality can be traced to the same origin, he added, in comments written to explain why the party this week tightened its clean-living rules for party members.