Campaign gets serious
NO specific accusations have been made against Liu Zhangwei, the former Guizhou Communist Party secretary, whose death was confirmed yesterday. However, the second suicide in as many months by a senior Chinese official (following that of Wang Baosen, a vice-mayor of Beijing); the execution of Liu's wife on corruption charges; and the resignation of Beijing party chief Chen Xitong last week, are a reflection of the seriousness of the latest crackdown on corruption and indiscipline within the party.
China's slide into corruption was a side-effect of the open-door policy of the past 15 years. Officials at high levels came to believe they could operate with impunity. Yet by undermining public faith in the Government and party and causing resentment among ordinary people, they hastened their own downfall.
Previous attempts to bring corruption under control were inadequate. A few low-level offenders were rounded-up and punished, often harshly. But these scapegoats only served to underscore the impression that senior officials were above the law. The party had to restore its credibility, not to mention standards of probity and fairness.
The victims of the latest purges will not be widely mourned. But the public is unlikely to be pacified easily. There will be scepticism about the motives for the latest anti-corruption drive. Party elder Chen Yun has died and the patriarch, Deng Xiaoping, is no longer believed to be in charge. President Jiang Zemin and the top leadership will be assumed to be manoeuvring to prove their own toughness and ability to take control. Mr Jiang, too, will be suspected of using the crackdown to remove from power some of his political rivals. A critical aim of the anti-corruption campaign is to bolster the credibility and authority of the Government and the party and it would be damaging, not to mention despicable, if the only victims were members of a particular political faction.
But power plays are a constant feature of Chinese politics and Mr Jiang should not let any public cynicism stop him pursuing corruption at the top of the party. It is a cancer which needs to be cut out of Chinese society. However, it would be reassuring to see among his targets some who are assumed to be his backers, as well as those who may be his political rivals.
