International Anti-corruption Day is an occasion that reminds us that we are all vulnerable to a particularly insidious disease that shows the fragility of human willpower.
Today is the second annual day for reflecting on corruption.
One cannot help but think about power when talking of corruption because of the famous phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely" uttered by John Dalberg Acton (1834-1902).
But it is also because we often see, hear or read about bribes being taken by officials, embezzlement of public funds and abuse of power for personal gain.
Why officials? Because they have power.
In the long history of human civilization, power is what has made a difference to the shaping of our world. Power in the hands of great figures has contributed to the steady progress of human civilization, but it can also erode the soul.
Instances of bloody fighting for power can be read on almost every page of our history books.
We humans have many desires. These desires have remained strong with the rise of material civilization.
The more we get, the more we want. That is human nature.
Power helps those that have it get what they want; but then they want more.
In China, with miraculous economic development since opening up and reform in 1978, the corruption of those in power has become a hard nut to crack for the central government.
The country's integration into the world community and globalization has given an international dimension to the corruption problem. Many corrupt officials have fled to other countries, taking their ill-gotten gains with them.
The government has tried to crack down on corruption and is trying to establish a mechanism to prevent corruption.
On October 27, the National People's Congress ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption. This will take effect worldwide next week.
This is the first convention of its kind adopted by the United Nations in the fight against corruption, which has become an international scourge.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement on the adoption of the convention: "Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government's ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice, and discouraging foreign investment and aid."
Joining this convention will help China in its efforts to trace officials that have fled abroad. We may also learn from the ways other countries have approached the prevention of corruption.
As a disease that thrives on human weakness, corruption will always be present. A major crackdown is important, but prevention is even more so.
A healthy social mechanism is key to resistance. Power in the hands of officials should be effectively supervised and controlled. It should be very difficult for those in power to abuse their positions for personal gain.
Officials must be made aware of the fact that their power is granted by taxpayers.
Some officials take it for granted that the power in their hands is achieved through their hard work alone, and therefore consider it natural that they should use their influence for whatever purpose they see fit.
But they should be told that, as civil servants, they must never use their power for anything other than serving the public.
(China Daily December 9, 2005)
