Government officials are under more supervision than ever before
as authorities step up the crackdown on corruption.
"We have taken the promotion of transparent exercising of
government powers as an important part of our effort to curb graft
and build a clean government," said Zhao Kezhi, vice-governor of
east China's Jiangsu Province.
Along with rapid economic development since the late 1970s,
especially after the mid-1990s, some government officials have used
their powers to seek illegal personal gain, resulting in harm to
society and a loss of public confidence in the government.
Cases of high profile officials taking bribes and abusing powers
have been uncovered over the last few years across the country,
including in Jiangsu Province.
"We have made it a rule to conduct a thorough examination of
power use in all provincial and municipal government departments
and to regulate the exercise of power so that fewer loopholes are
left for officials intending to engage in illegal activities," said
Xie Xiulan, director of Jiangsu Provincial Supervision
Committee.
Statistics show that in 2006 alone, 9,539 officials at various
government levels in the province were investigated and punished
for their misuse of power, corruption and other illegal
activities.
"The number of corruption cases last year was much lower than in
previous years as we have installed a supervision mechanism to
conduct regular examination of officials' performance and garner
feedback from the public," said Xie.
The provincial supervision committee has set up five inspection
teams to supervise the activities of provincial and municipal
officials as well as leaders of key State-owned enterprises.
The drop in corruption cases is also attributed to a prevention
mechanism, which includes moral education, enforcement of party
discipline and observation of laws and regulations among government
officials and civil servants.
The reform of cadre selection and appointment systems has also
played a role in the anti-corruption and clean government move.
To regulate the procedure of selecting and appointing cadres,
open elections, notification before appointment, feedback from the
public and voting systems have been introduced, which, to a great
degree, ensure the quality of the officials from the very
beginning.
"Fighting corruption is a long-term endeavor and we will
continue the battle by further strengthening law enforcement, as
well as investigation and punishment for any illegal activities no
matter what position the official holds, said Xie.
(China Daily February 14, 2007)