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Shi Jiangtao

More is needed to stamp out corruption, scholars insist

Auditor-General Li Jinhua  may have earned applause for his report detailing government corruption, but mainland scholars say efforts to stamp out graft will not succeed without support from all levels of officialdom.

Mao Shoulong , a professor with Renmin University's School of Public Administration in Beijing, said the popularity of the audit report, which covered  more government ministries and state-owned companies than last year, demonstrated growing respect and support for the state auditors.

'The auditors have achieved more power with their openness, which has been seen in audit reports from the past three years,' Professor Mao said.

'It is a step forward for the public, including government organs, to be showing respect for their findings.'

Mr Li delivered his report on Tuesday to the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Unlike last year, none of the ministries named this time  openly disputed  his report.

In a response published yesterday  by Xinhua, many of the  ministries and departments named by the auditor-general acknowledged their shortcomings and mistakes, but none said they would shoulder any legal responsibility.

Professor Mao said there were many other problems such as corruption at the local level and loopholes in the personnel system that state auditors were unable to address.

Hu Xingdou , a Beijing-based political scientist,  said it would be naive to expect that such a highly symbolic move alone could stamp out rampant corruption.

'The report has revealed so many irregularities ...involving government officials,' Professor Hu said. 'It has exposed loopholes in the  finance and auditing system.

'It is intended to show that government at all levels, including central government organs, must abide by laws and regulations. But it only has a limited effect.'

Professor Hu said the punishment meted out to officials responsible for the irregularities exposed by Mr Li was not severe enough.

He said the effectiveness of the review was hampered by the exclusion of the military and Communist Party departments,  still viewed as off-limits to auditors.

Both scholars blamed the NPC for not  scrutinising central and local governments on a daily basis.

Professor Hu suggested that the State Council or the NPC should establish rules on how to hold cadres responsible for their mistakes and even pursue  legal responsibility.

'Premier Wen Jiabao  has done a good job introducing a responsibility system to deal with emergency accidents,' Professor Hu said. 'But such a system is needed even more to help deal with non-emergency affairs, such as those involving the waste of public funds and serious economic problems.'



State audit shames but lacks power to blame, say experts