Over 20 years before Xi Jinping took the helm of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, fighting corruption held an important place in his heart. In 1988, shortly after he took office as secretary of the CPC Ningde Prefectural Committee, in Fujian Province, southeast China, Xi took action to "offend" local officials who built houses illegally on public land.

In an interview with state broadcaster China Central Television in 2003, Xi recalled the experience. He asked a discipline inspection official, "Do you think ordinary people are happy with the situation?"

"Of course not," the official replied.

"Should we upset 3 million people (the population of Ningde at the time) or a few thousand officials who violated the Party's discipline?"

The answer is obvious.

At the First Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, held after the conclusion of the 18th CPC National Congress in October 2012, Xi became the top leader of the world's largest political party with a membership of more than 96 million at the end of 2021, and since March 2013, he has served as president of China, the world's most populous country with a population of 1.4 billion. "Driven by a strong sense of mission, we have resolved to 'offend a few thousand rather than fail 1.4 billion' and to clear our Party of all its ills," he said in a report to the 20th CPC National Congress on October 16.

The CPC has "made significant advances in exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance," the report said, adding it has achieved an overwhelming victory against corruption.

From October 2012 to June this year, discipline inspection commissions of the CPC at all levels and supervisory agencies across the country have investigated 4.516 million cases and brought to justice 4.439 million offenders, Sun Yeli, a spokesperson for the 20th CPC National Congress, said at a press conference held on October 15.

A journey with no end 

Over the past decade, the Party has used a combination of measures to "take out tigers," "swat flies" and "hunt down foxes," punishing corrupt officials of all types, the report said. These terms refer to corrupt senior officials, corrupt low-ranking bureaucrats and fugitives abroad suspected of major economic crimes, respectively.

However, while the "Oscar-worthy" stories of the "tigers" have gained sufficient attention from overseas, few are really aware of what the anti-corruption efforts have brought to the Chinese people.

"Corruption takes various forms. It means not only bribery, but also nonfeasance, bureaucracy and pointless formalities, which harm people's immediate interests, including failing to meet their needs for medical care, old-age pension or maternity services," Tang Renwu, Dean of the Academy of Government of Beijing Normal University, told Beijing Review.

A recent TV documentary on the Party's anti-corruption efforts told the story of Yang Xuchun and his colleagues, who visited Liangshan, a small village in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province. Yang's team was dispatched by the CPC discipline inspection commission of the county. Their tasks were to help the CPC organization and members in the village exercise full and rigorous self-governance.

To gain an in-depth understanding of locals' needs, they were required to live in villagers' homes until their difficulties were overcome. And each of them was required to pay 180 yuan ($25) per day to their host families.

During their stay, the team members learned of many of the real challenges facing the villagers, including one in particular that was related to nonfeasance. When land contracted by Cheng Qimi's family and his neighbors was acquired by the government to build wind power infrastructure in 2015, the compensation was quickly transferred by the government to the village account. However, owing to a dispute between the households about the boundaries of their land, the head of the villagers' committee, an organization of self-management, refused to give the money to them and did little to mediate the disputes.

Yang and his colleagues facilitated an equitable solution by remeasuring the neighbors' land and instructed the villagers' committee to hand over the payments. Had they not gone to stay in the village, the villagers' problems and the malpractice that ensued may not have been discovered.

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress emphasized that the Party will take firm actions to swat "flies" whose misconduct directly affects people's lives.

The public have noticed the changes. The number of complaint letters and visits dropped by 29.9 percent in 2021 compared to those of 2018, Xiao Pei, deputy head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC and deputy head of the National Supervisory Commission, said at a press conference on the sidelines of the 20th CPC National Congress.

Cheng and his neighbors were told to accept their compensation. But they hesitated, given that they have to rely on the villagers' committee for their businesses and pensions in the future. Yang promised what they worried about would not happen as village affairs are open to public and they would keep supervising the village officials.

The villagers' concerns were the result of persistent nonfeasance, which reveals the necessity to continue the anti-corruption efforts. Meanwhile, as new and disguised forms of corruption keep emerging, corruption extends to more sectors and becomes more complex.

"Corruption is a cancer to the vitality and ability of the Party, and fighting corruption is the most thorough kind of self-reform there is," the report reads. "As long as the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption still exist, we must keep sounding the bugle and never rest, not even for a minute, in our fight against corruption."

Xu Qifang, deputy head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, unveiled new measures at a press conference on October 17. For instance, officials should report their salaries, allowances, all forms of income, real estate assets and investments. The Party randomly examined 3-5 percent of the reports and that proportion has expanded to 10 percent in recent years. Moreover, it will continue to regulate the business activities of officials' immediate relatives. 

A universal problem 

"Fighting against and coming down hard on corruption is a consensus and demand of the international community," Tang said. "To tackle the universal issue, the particularity of China lies in its huge population and that the number of Party members is even larger than the total population of many countries."

According to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2021, Singapore is among the least corrupt countries, and its solution is competitive salaries for those joining and remaining in the public bureaucracy and government. In Singapore, members of parliament earn about three times the median household income, according to Reuters.

The U.S., on the other hand, is stuck in "revolving door" scandals. Shuffling people from public sectors to private sectors has long been a tradition in U.S. politics, which creates a hotbed for corruption. The country becomes a shelter for people guilty of corruption. According to the African Union, in recent years, Africa has lost more than $50 billion per year due to illicit financial flows, and it has lost $1 trillion due to corruption, much of which was transferred to the U.S.

The CPC, with the largest number of members in the world, has made great strides in addressing corruption in the country with the largest number of people, Tang said.

"Through firm action, China has contributed its wisdom and solutions to the global campaign against corruption, and demonstrated to the world the effectiveness of the CPC in coping with corruption," he noted.

In the coming years, the Party will deepen international cooperation to combat corruption and establish an integrated mechanism for pursuing fugitives, preventing escape and retrieving stolen assets. To address both the symptoms and root causes of corruption, it will advance national anti-corruption legislation and promote a culture of integrity in the new era, the report says.

(Print Edition Title: Swatting Flies, Hunting Tigers) 

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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