The fight against corruption in China: methods, experience

The Russian president at a recent press conference said a phrase that immediately became popular: "If money is wasted, then it is not corruption." With this, of course, it is difficult not to agree, there is logic in this phrase, but there is little joy in such an answer. Against the backdrop of the recent high-profile corruption scandals with former Minister Ulyukayev, governors, deputies, only the lazy in our country did not seem to speculate on the subject of theft. Almost everyone is sure that corruption is bad for the country, society, the state. What should we do with it? Answering this question, most of them cite the methods of fighting corruption in China. In what they manifest, we know everything. The fight against corruption in China is accompanied by execution. Is it so? Really in the Middle Kingdom completely exterminated for the slightest manifestation of embezzlement? Let's try to understand this question. For Russia, this issue is relevant, perhaps at all times.

The origins of corruption: mentality or tradition?

Let's honestly admit, who among us has never thanked a person for help? It does not mean a specific payment, according to the contract, namely thanks, in all sincerity? For example, doctors, for a successful operation, teachers for a good preparation for the final exams? Let's agree that the majority in our society thinks this is normal. But do not we think that in this way we are not just supporting corruption, but creating it? Of course, many now do not agree with this. However, the fact remains. Imagine that the hospital paid for the reception, but before we had a rich businessman. For a good job, for which he already gave his money to the cashier, he made a gift "from the heart" in the form of expensive alcohol. In the minds of the staff there is a stereotype that "it is so necessary", this is "normal". And when a less wealthy person comes who also paid the same amount to the cashier, but did not make a "gift from the heart", he will have a completely different attitude. And it is also good that the staff, who "from the heart" certainly likes it, will not start hinting such acts of goodwill. There are cases when staff are openly begging for "gratitude".

One might think that this information has nothing to do with our topic " Fighting Corruption in China as an Example for Russia". However, it is not. The fact is that the sources of corruption deepen their roots in history. This is the tradition of all Eastern peoples, including Russians, as successors to the Eastern way of Byzantium and the Golden Horde.

The difference in the mentality and traditions of the East and West is clearly demonstrated by the history of 1585. The Turkish sultan Murad III was an aristocrat from Austria. He was badly familiar with the traditions of the East and did not bring a gift to the reception. As a result, the act was regarded as disrespect. The Austrian ambassador was beaten with sticks, thrown into prison.

Corruption in China has also outgrown the mentality of thanking, encouraging for help. Back in 2006, the CPC Chairman Hu Jintao described the phenomenon as "a mine laid under social principles." The fight against corruption in China began.

The coming of Xi Jinping: the beginning of the war on bribery

In 2012, Xi Jinping became the Chairman of the Communist Party in China. He set priorities in his policy. The fight against corruption in China (the photos of those convicted for this is lower) is becoming the cornerstone.

Code for officials from Xi Jinping

First of all, the Chinese officials were given a list of 8 points. Everyone had to learn them by heart and obey unconditionally. It reflected the rules for officials:

1. Refusal of solemnity and formalism. Many high-ranking officials and governors like oriental lush festivities. Red tracks, meetings with the people, on which bureaucrats are obliged to present. All this is accompanied by flowers, songs, applause, expensive banquets. Naturally, all this is paid from state budgets.
2. Refusal to take part in any commercial activities, such as laying stones, participating in conferences, cutting ribbons at the opening, etc.
3. Minimizing travel abroad. Reduction of the staff of assistants accompanying, if they are still necessary.
4. Conducting documentation and explanations understandable for ordinary citizens.
5. Refusal to block roads, streets for driving tuples.
6. Rejection of unnecessary PR. Appearance in news feeds, programs only when absolutely necessary.
7. Refusal of publications, autobiographies, instructive books and so on.
8. Saving. Do not write yourself a car, an apartment, a voucher, etc.

However, officials perceived this as a joke, demagoguery. Nobody seriously thought that the new Chairman was not going to joke. They did not yet know that a serious fight against corruption in China was declared. "Either high morale or shooting" is the main idea of a new strategy. Of course, the death penalty existed before. However, Xi Jinping seriously changed all methods of fighting corruption in China. We briefly describe them later.

Economical banquet - a signal for officials

After the "Code of Rules" of 8 points, the new Chairman made it clear that he was serious. In China, the tradition is to hold regular banquets among high-ranking officials. The Chairman himself appears on them. Banquets are distinguished by unprecedented luxury: they serve dishes prepared in the best seafood restaurants, expensive wines, cigars, cigarettes worth tens of dollars per pack, etc. Almost everything on the tables remains after the celebrations. This was tremendously on the budget.

Xi Jinping ordered only 4 dishes and soup. The officials were discouraged. Many of them realized that there is a serious fight against corruption in China.

Saving banquets for top Chinese officials dealt a serious blow to the business that was focused on this.

Results of "banquet economy"

During the first year of the Chair's work, the number of banquets fell by 30 percent.

Savings not only on traditional dinners and dinners. The sales of tickets for first-class air transportation dropped by 10 percent, and the sale of luxury fell by 20-30 percent. The volume of elite vodka "Maotai", which was bought only by officials, also decreased. The price of one bottle is approximately 600-700 US dollars.

The first results of 2013 gave their results. The budget savings amounted to about $ 40 billion. And this is only the figures of the federal budget. Total savings of all levels amounted to about 160 billion dollars.

So what was the fight against corruption in China? Only whether the threats and instructions of unclean officials were managed to be controlled? No. The methods of fighting corruption in China are much more severe.

Shooting is the highest measure for corrupt officials

The death penalty for officials who were caught on a bribe is execution. However, there are many myths that are common in our country. The first of them - in China, all the polls are put to the wall for theft. This, to put it mildly, is not quite so.

The fight against corruption in China: executed 10,000 people

Indeed, over the entire period of the anti-corruption policy of the state for 16 years, more than 10 thousand people were sentenced to capital punishment. However, these figures need comments:

1. China contains 70 million officials. For a huge population this figure is small. China is on the 26th place in the ranking by percentage of the number of officials from all able-bodied citizens - 8.8%. For comparison, Russia is in the top five with a 30% result. For a huge 70-million staff of officials, accustomed to traditional types of gifts, incentives to shoot 10 thousand for 10 years seems a negligible figure.
2. For example, in just one year, the fight against corruption in China (2015) led to the fact that more than 330,000 cases were initiated. Those. Only one year should have shot a third of the ten-year indicator.

To sentence does not mean to shoot

We must not forget one circumstance in the Chinese legislation: to sentence to execution does not mean to shoot. It is envisaged that the execution of the sentence can be postponed. The timing of execution, however, is not regulated. This means that having received the highest penalty, you can expect a lifetime of execution, and not waiting for him. The "bloody" experience of China in the field of fighting corruption during the reign of Xi Jinping showed that not a single "tiger" was killed for theft. High-ranking official. On average, bribe-taking officials are about 12-16 years old for their crimes.

Hence the conclusion: the mass shooting of all dishonest officials in the Middle Kingdom is a myth. The death penalty, of course, is applied, but only in exceptional cases, as a rule, as demonstration lessons for the rest.

The higher measure does not mean the execution

Today in China, it is rarely used just shooting. It is replaced by injection. This is due to two reasons:

1. Humanity. China was often accused of cruelty.
2. Donation. Often, the Chinese after the execution carried the corpses to medical institutions, in which organs were seized. This business is booming in the country. Bodies buy in other countries for substantial amounts. Prick often does not provide an opportunity to withdraw the heart and other important organs.

The reasons for the indicative fight against corruption

Anticorruption policy is not accidentally associated with the beginning of the 2000's. This happened for two reasons:

1. By that time, economic growth had slowed down. It turned out that behind the magnificent Olympics in Beijing, the Asian Games in Guangzhou, the Universiade in Shenzhen, there are deep crisis problems, the main cause of which is large-scale corruption.
2. The growth of the Internet. In the age of the "global village," as many journalists and politicians call the Network, it is very difficult to hide corruption "punctures". People will not believe the precepts of Mao, Lenin, Confucius, if their slogans hide billions of bank accounts of officials. Any unsuccessful photoshop of non-existent checks, an accident on an expensive car of an official's son with a low salary, rest on expensive yachts surrounded by photomodels - all this is carried out for everyone.

War with corruption or with the opposition?

People who are called upon to shoot for corruption in our country, it is necessary to think about whether dishonest officials will hide behind executions. Will these measures not lead to a legal way of getting rid of the political opposition? At the very least, most political scientists who study the experience of fighting corruption in China are inclined to this.

The slogan "to strike the flies and tigers", proclaimed by Xi Jinping, showed that any person, regardless of his income, could get into the shooting. Before the bullet everyone is equal. In the bribery involved almost all officials in the Middle Kingdom. Often sentences are received by political competitors.

Media as a method of fighting corruption

One of the recent speeches of our president sounded the thought connected with the loud case of Ulyukayev. Putin said that there is no need to create a show in the media out of corruption cases.

The experience of fighting corruption in China shows that, on the contrary, wide publicity in the media gives positive results. The whole anti-corruption company in China solves two problems:

1. Bring to all officials that they can "not carry", and they can be the next in the list of those shot.
2. To restore trust in the authorities in the society.

Based on these goals, the main task is to make aura of the television show around corruption cases. Officials are openly removed from all posts, articles about their "dirty deeds" are published in the media, reports are reported from luxurious mansions, luxury cars appear to the masses, which can not be bought for ordinary wages. In the finals, this ends with exponential executions. Of course, mass shootings on television are rarely seen, as it was before, and the shooting itself is rarely practiced. It is replaced by a lethal injection. For this purpose, many specialized medical institutions were built.

The results of the fight against corruption

So, what has the fight against corruption in China given? The statistics for only 2015 show that there were about 34 thousand violations revealed. Of these, more than 8 thousand cases were brought to court for using official position for personal purposes, more than 5 thousand - for receiving valuable gifts. Before the court, violations are also connected with the use of official vehicles for personal purposes. There were about 5.5 thousand such cases for 2015. About 4.5 thousand officials were punished for organizing too grand banquets, weddings, funerals of relatives, etc. More than 500 thousand people suffered for the organization of entertainment institutions, clubs. More than 2.5 thousand answered before the law for their trips around the country at the expense of budgetary funds.

Fighting corruption in China: 2016

For 2016 there are no exact results yet. However, the effectiveness is obvious. The fight against corruption in 2015-2016 brought down the economy of the largest city of Macau - the largest center of gambling in the world. Anticorruption policy led to the fact that officials either lost real income, or simply afraid to be seen among the "financial tycoons".

July 4, 2016 to life imprisonment sentenced "tiger" Lin Jihua - the former chief of the Chancellery of the CCP for receiving bribes, abuse of power, violation of party-state discipline. The arrest of such an official, who is almost the third person in the country, stirred up all Chinese society.

Conclusion

Shooting in China for bribes is not a massive one. However, one can not but admit that many were sentenced to life imprisonment, even more than those who received a solid ten to fifteen years. All this has saved significant amounts in the budget. Also, such measures have positively affected the development of the economy, since the money goes into investing, and not into the pockets of officials.

I want to believe that in Russia, at last, anti-corruption legislation will also work actively, and arrests will be not single, but massive. Of course, it is impossible to eradicate this phenomenon completely. However, the situation when the finance ministers openly argue that investing money in development is useless, as they "plunder", and by federal channels are surprised that one highway was built, and no ruble is stolen, seems hopeless. Only systematic and decisive measures against corruption will bring results.