The President of Russia at a recent press conference said a phrase that immediately became popular: "If the money is wasted, then this is not corruption." Of course, it’s difficult to disagree with this, there is logic in this phrase, but there is little joy in this answer. Against the backdrop of the recent high-profile corruption scandals with former Minister Ulyukaev, governors, deputies, only the lazy in our country did not seem to discuss theft. Almost everyone is sure that corruption is bad for a country, society, state. What shall we do with her? Answering this question, most cite the methods of combating corruption in China as an example. In what they appear, we know everything. The fight against corruption in China is accompanied by execution. Is it so? Indeed, in the Middle Kingdom they completely exterminate for the slightest manifestation of embezzlement? Let's try to figure this out. For Russia, this issue is perhaps relevant at all times.
Sources of corruption: mentality or traditions?
Let's honestly admit, which of us has never thanked a person for his help? This does not mean a specific payment, according to the contract, namely gratitude, from the heart? For example, doctors, for a successful operation, teachers for good preparation for final exams? We agree that the majority in our society considers this normal. But do we not think that in this way we not only support corruption, but create it? Of course, many now disagree with this. However, the fact remains. Imagine that the hospital paid for the appointment, but before us there was 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 “this is necessary”, this is “normal”. And when a less affluent person comes who also paid the same amount in cash, but didn’t give a gift “from the heart”, he will have a completely different attitude. And it’s also good that personnel who definitely like the principle “from the heart” will not begin to hint at such acts of goodwill. There are cases when staff openly begs for "gratitude."
You 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 origins of corruption are rooted in history. This is the tradition of all eastern peoples, including Russians, as successors to the eastern structure of Byzantium and the Golden Horde.
The difference in the mentality and traditions of the East and the West is clearly demonstrated by the history of 1585. An aristocrat from Austria came to the Turkish sultan Murad III . He was new to 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 also outgrew the mentality of thanking, encouraging for help. Back in 2006, CCP Chairman Hu Jintao described this phenomenon as a “mine laid under social foundations.” The fight against corruption in China has begun.
Xi Jinping Parish: The Start of the Bribery War
In 2012, Xi Jinping became Chairman of the Communist Party in China. He set priorities in his politics. The fight against corruption in China (photos of those convicted for this below) is at the forefront.
Code for Officials by Xi Jinping
First, Chinese officials were given a list of 8 items. Everyone had to memorize them and observe them implicitly. It reflected the rules for officials:
- Refusal of solemnity and formalism. Many high-ranking officials and governors love lush oriental celebrations. Red carpet, meetings with the people, on which it is customary to bestow bureaucrats. All this is accompanied by flowers, songs, applause, expensive banquets. Naturally, all this is paid from state budgets.
- Refusal to take part in any commercial events, such as laying stones, participating in conferences, cutting ribbons at opening, etc.
- Minimizing travel abroad. Reducing the staff of assistants accompanying, if they are nevertheless necessary.
- Documentation and clarification in a language that is understandable to ordinary citizens.
- Refusal to block roads, streets for passage of motorcades.
- Refusal of excess PR. Appearance in news feeds, programs only when absolutely necessary.
- Refusal of publications, autobiographies, instructive books, etc.
- Saving. Do not write out cars, apartments, trips, etc.
However, officials took it as a joke, demagoguery. No one seriously thought that the new Chairman was not going to joke. They did not yet know that a serious fight against corruption was declared in China. “Either high morality or execution” is the main idea of ​​the new strategy. Of course, the death penalty existed before. However, Xi Jinping has seriously altered all methods of fighting corruption in China. We will briefly talk about them a little later.
Economy banquet - a signal for officials
After the “Code of Rules” of 8 paragraphs, the new Chair made it clear that he was serious. In China, the tradition is to arrange regular banquets among senior officials. The Chairman himself appears on them. Banquets are unheard of luxury: they serve dishes cooked 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. It hit a huge budget.
Xi Jinping ordered only 4 dishes and soup. The officials were discouraged. Many of them realized that there was a serious fight against corruption in China.
Banquet-saving for top Chinese officials dealt a serious blow to the business, which focused on it.
The results of "banquet savings"
In the first year of the Chair's work, the number of banquets decreased by 30 percent.
Saved not only on traditional dinners and dinners. Sales of first-class airline tickets decreased by 10 percent, while luxury sales fell by 20-30 percent. The volume of elite Maotai vodka, which was bought only by officials, also decreased. The price of one bottle is approximately 600-700 US dollars.
The first results of 2013 yielded results. Budget savings amounted to about $ 40 billion. And these are only figures of the federal budget. The total savings at all levels amounted to about $ 160 billion.
So what was the fight against corruption in China? Was it only by threats and instructions of dishonest officials that they managed to restrain themselves? No. The anti-corruption methods in China are much more severe.
Shooting - the highest measure for corrupt officials
The death penalty for officials caught in a bribe is the death penalty. However, there are many myths that are common in our country. The first of them - in China, everyone is put to the wall for theft. This, to put it mildly, is not entirely true.
Anti-corruption in China: 10,000 executed
Indeed, over the entire period of the state’s anti-corruption policy over 16 years more than 10 thousand people have been sentenced to death. However, these figures need comments:
- China contains 70 million officials. For a huge population, this figure is small. China ranks 26th in the ranking by the percentage of officials from all able-bodied citizens - 8.8%. For comparison, Russia is in the top five with a result of 30%. For the huge 70 million state officials accustomed to traditional types of gifts, rewards, the execution of 10 thousand in 10 years seems an insignificant figure.
- For example, in just one year, the fight against corruption in China (2015) led to the fact that more than 330 thousand cases were opened. Those. in just one year, a third of the ten-year figure was to be shot.
Sentence does not mean to shoot
We must not forget one circumstance in Chinese law: to sentence to death does not mean to shoot. It is envisaged that the execution of the sentence can be postponed. Deadlines, however, are not regulated. This means that having received the death penalty, you can expect to be shot for life, without waiting for him. The "bloody" experience of China in the fight against corruption during the reign of Xi Jinping showed that not a single "tiger" was shot for theft, i.e. high-ranking official. On average, bribe-takers receive about 12-16 years 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, applies, but only in exceptional cases, as a rule, as demonstration lessons for the rest.
The highest measure does not mean shooting
Shooting is rarely used today in China. It is replaced by an injection. There are two reasons for this:
- Humanity. China has often been blamed for cruelty.
- Donation. After the execution, the Chinese often brought corpses to medical facilities where organs were seized. This business is booming in the country. Bodies are bought in other countries for substantial amounts. An injection often makes it impossible to remove the heart and other important organs.
Reasons for demonstrative fight against corruption
It is no coincidence that anti-corruption policy is connected precisely with the beginning of the 2000s. This happened for two reasons:
- Economic growth has slowed by this time. It turned out that behind the magnificent Olympics in Beijing, the Asian Games in Guangzhou, the Universiade in Shenzhen, deep crisis problems are hidden, the main reason for which is large-scale corruption.
- The growth of the Internet. In the era 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 billions of dollars in bank accounts with officials are hidden behind their slogans. Any unsuccessful photoshop of non-existent checks, an accident on an expensive car of the son of an official with a low salary, a vacation on expensive yachts surrounded by photo models - all this is put on public display.
The war on corruption or the opposition?
People who are called to shoot for corruption in our country need to think about whether or not dishonest officials will hide behind executions? Will these measures lead to a legal way of getting rid of the political opposition? At least, this is what most political scientists studying the experience of fighting corruption in China are inclined to.
The slogan "beat flies and tigers", proclaimed by Xi Jinping, showed that anyone can be shot, regardless of his income. Before the bullet everyone is equal. Almost all officials in the Middle Kingdom are involved in bribery. Often, political rivals receive sentences.
Media as a method of fighting corruption
At one of our president’s recent speeches, an idea related to the high-profile case of Ulyukaev was voiced. Putin said there was no need to create media shows from corruption cases.
The experience of fighting corruption in China shows that, on the contrary, widespread publicity in the media gives positive results. The entire anti-corruption company in China has two objectives:
- To bring to all the officials what can “not endure”, and it is they who can become the next in the list of executed.
- To restore public confidence in the government.
Based on these goals, the main task is to create an aura of a television show around corruption. Officials are openly removed from all posts, articles about their “dirty deeds” are published in the media, reports are being made from posh mansions, and luxury cars that cannot be bought with a regular salary are being presented to the masses. In the finale, this ends with exponential executions. Of course, mass shootings on TV are rarely seen, as it was before, and shooting itself is rarely practiced. It is being replaced by lethal injection. For these purposes, many specialized medical institutions have been built.
Anti-corruption Results
So, what did the fight against corruption in China give? Statistics for 2015 alone show that there were about 34 thousand detected violations. 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. Violations related to the use of official vehicles for personal purposes also reach the court. In 2015, there were about 5.5 thousand such cases. About 4.5 thousand officials were punished for organizing too lavish banquets, weddings, relatives' funerals, etc. More than 500 thousand people suffered for the organization of entertainment venues, clubs. More than 2.5 thousand responded to 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. However, the effectiveness is obvious. The fight against corruption in 2015-2016 brought down the economy of the largest city of Macau, the largest gambling business center in the world. Anti-corruption policy has led officials to either lose real income, or simply fear being seen among the "bigwigs".
On July 4, 2016, the “tiger” Lin Jihua, the former head of the CCP’s office, was sentenced to life imprisonment for taking bribes, abuse of power, and violation of party-state discipline. The arrest of such an official, who is almost the third person in the country, stirred up the whole of Chinese society.
Output
Executions in China for bribes are not widespread. However, one cannot fail to admit that many were sentenced to life imprisonment, even more of those who received a substantial term of 10-15 years. All this allowed to save significant amounts in the budget. Also, such measures had a positive impact on the development of the economy, as the money goes into investing, and not into the pockets of officials.
I would like to believe that in Russia, finally, anti-corruption legislation will also work actively, and arrests will be not single, but massive. Of course, this phenomenon cannot be completely eradicated. However, the situation where finance ministers openly argue that it is useless to invest in development, as they are "plundered," and are surprised by federal channels that one highway was built and not a ruble was stolen, seems hopeless. Only systematic and decisive anti-corruption measures will bring results.