China: Recently two big news related to corruption came out in China. First, an investigation has started against China’s Defense Minister Dong Jung on corruption charges. Dong Jung is the third Chinese Defense Minister on whom such investigation is going on. The second news is even more attention-grabbing, which exposes the deepening scope of corruption. In China, former Chairman of Bank of China (BOC) Liu Liang has been given death sentence on charges of corruption and giving illegal loans.
What is the whole matter?
People holding top positions in China’s People’s Liberation Army are said to be involved in corruption. Defense Minister Dong Jun has been implicated in these allegations as part of an anti-corruption drive targeting senior officials of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). According to the report, China fears that China’s army is becoming weak due to corruption. Therefore, an anti-corruption drive is being run in the Chinese Army from 2023, under which nine PLA generals and many officers have been removed so far.
Talking about Liu, the Chinese court found him guilty of taking bribe of about Rs 168 crore. Apart from this, he gave illegal loans worth about Rs 4,620 crore to companies which were not eligible. Liu was forever deprived of political rights. His entire property will be confiscated. Also, whatever they have earned illegally will be confiscated and deposited in the state treasury.
Anti corruption drive has been going on since 2012
In November 2012, Xi Jinping was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of China i.e. CCP. Since then his stance on corruption has been strict. In fact, CCP has been in control of China since 1949. At the same time, apprehension about the future of the party began to prevail. That is, nepotism is increasing within the party. These people have indulged in corruption. Jinping was also well aware of this. Then when Xi Jinping became the President of China in March 2013, he launched an anti-corruption campaign soon after. Till now, action has been taken against 50 lakh officers under this campaign. Along with senior officials, lower level employees have also been the target of the anti-corruption campaign. In December 2023, the Standing Committee of China’s legislature National People’s Congress (NPC) had passed amendments to the country’s criminal law. Its purpose was to toughen the punishment for bribery. It was through this amendment that provision for even death penalty for corruption was made.
Why is China criticized?
The anti-corruption campaign is criticized for its lack of transparency and accountability. In other countries, there is an independent department to deal with such cases where there is no interference from any party. But in China, the rules and regulations related to corruption are decided and implemented by the Communist Party of China. Experts believe that the lack of independent checks and balances means that corruption investigations can easily be weaponized to eliminate political rivals. Or rather, under the guise of anti-corruption campaign, efforts are being made to make Jinping invincible.
Some big names who got involved in corruption charges
The first name is that of China’s former Railway Minister Liu Zijun. In 2013, the court sentenced Jijun to death. Allegations were made that he was involved in corruption and misused his power as Railway Minister. Got government railway contracts by taking bribes. From this bribe, Liu earned more than Rs 80 crore in just 25 years. Bai Enpei used to be the head of the Communist Party. He continued to handle party work in Yunnan till 2011. Then corruption allegations were leveled against him. It was said that he had earned more than Rs 3 billion. A case was filed against him and in October 2016, he was sentenced to death for this crime. But later this punishment was changed to life imprisonment.
In April 2015, General Guo Boxiong was also accused of taking bribes. He was the Vice Chairperson of the Central Military Commission (CMC). CMC is the largest organization in China’s defense affairs. In a way, it runs the Chinese army i.e. the People’s Liberation Army. In July 2016, it was reported that Guo had confessed to his crime and had not appealed against his sentence. After that his properties were confiscated and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.