11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Corruption often influenced judicial decision making ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22772]

"Corruption often influenced judicial decision making, and safeguards against corruption were vague and poorly enforced. In 2006 292 judges were investigated for "illegally handling cases," which most often means taking bribes or abusing power; 109 were found criminally liable. Local governments appointed judges at the corresponding level of the judicial structure. Judges received their court finances and salaries from these government bodies and could be replaced by them. Local authorities often exerted undue influence over the judges they appointed and financed. Several high-profile corruption cases involved procuracy officials. In August the Anhui provincial deputy procurator-general was removed from his position after taking a government trip overseas based on a fraudulent invitation letter."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Corruption remained an endemic problem ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23370]

"Corruption remained an endemic problem. The National Audit Office found that 56 ministerial level departments and their affiliates made unauthorized use of approximately $1.38 billion (RMB 6.87 billion) during the first 11 months of the year. Corruption plagued courts, law enforcement agencies, and other government agencies. In September 2006 foreign citizen Jude Shao was granted a one-year reduction in his 16-year sentence. Shao had been charged with tax evasion for allegedly refusing to pay bribes to local tax auditors. He remained in prison at year's end.
The courts and party agencies took disciplinary action against many public and party officials during the year. According to the SPP's March report to the NPC, prosecutors filed and investigated 33,688 cases of embezzlement, bribery, or dereliction of duty, and they prosecuted 29,966 officials while investigating a total of 40,041 officials in 2006. From January to June, prosecutors investigated 23,700 officials. The CCP's CDIC reported that 97,260 party officials were disciplined for breaking party discipline in 2006. Of these, 3,530 were transferred to judicial organs for investigation of possible violations of law. Inspection committees stripped 21,210 persons of CCP membership, nearly twice the number in 2005. In some cases sanctions administered by the CDIC reportedly substituted for sanctions by courts and other legal agencies. In 1995 the CCP central committee and state council established a policy requiring government officers at director level or above to make financial disclosures, but this policy has not been implemented effectively."

Document(s): Open document

13.07.2007 - Source: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Query response on government efforts to crack down on corrupt officials ("Government efforts to crack down on corrupt officials (2005 - 2007) [CHN102561.E]") [ID 21961]

Document(s): Open document

14.06.2007 - Source: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Query response on reports of corrupt officials issuing fraudulent Resident Identity Cards to unsuspecting rural residents and selling the authentic ones to "snakeheads" on the black market ("Reports of corrupt officials issuing fraudulent Resident Identity Cards to unsuspecting rural residents and selling the authentic ones to "snakeheads" on the black market (2004 - 2007) [CHN102486.E]") [ID 21966]

Document(s): Open document

06.2007 - Source: Freedom House

Corruption remains a severe problem ("Freedom in the World 2007") [ID 20398]

"Corruption remains a severe problem in China. In 2006, 40,041 government employees were investigated for corruption and dereliction of duty, with a total of 825 officials above the country level sentenced by the courts, of which nine were at provincial or ministerial level. 9, 582 investigations into commercial bribery involving government employees were initiated. Beijing vice mayor Liu Zhihua, Anhui vice governor He Minxu, and Shanghai mayor Chen Liangyu were all dismissed from office in 2006. The crackdown has had limited impact at the local level, however, where personal connections among party, government, and business leaders perpetuates the problem. China was ranked 70 out of 163 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Corruption influences judicial decision making ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 18972]

"Corruption often influenced judicial decision making, and safeguards against corruption were vague and poorly enforced (see section 3). In 2005 378 judges were investigated for taking bribes, and 66 were found criminally liable. Local governments appointed judges at the corresponding level of the judicial structure. Judges received their court finances and salaries from these government bodies and could be replaced by them. Local authorities often exerted undue influence over the judges they appointed and financed."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Newspapers could not report on corruption without government and party approval ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19085]

"Newspapers could not report on corruption without government and party approval, although authorities approved reports regarding some high-profile cases. In September, when Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu was dismissed from office, the Propaganda Department issued strict guidelines forbidding unsanctioned commentary and ordering all publications only to print Xinhua News Service reports. Publishers printed original material at their own risk. During the year journalists and editors who exposed corruption scandals frequently faced problems with the authorities."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Corruption remaines an endemic problem ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19152]

"Corruption remained an endemic problem. The National Audit Office found that 48 ministerial level departments misused or embezzled approximately $685 million (RMB 5.51 billion) from the central government's 2005 budget, a 70 percent increase over the amount reported in 2004. Corruption plagued courts, law enforcement agencies, and other government agencies. In March 2000 foreign citizen Jude Shao was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment for tax evasion after allegedly refusing to pay bribes to local tax auditors. He remained in prison at year's end, despite receiving a one-year reduction in his sentence in September.

The courts and party agencies took disciplinary action against many public and party officials during the year. According to the SPP's March 11 report to the NPC, prosecutors filed and investigated 24,277 cases of embezzlement, bribery, or dereliction of duty; prosecuted 30,205 officials while investigating a total of 41,477 officials in 2005; and transferred 7,279 cases to judicial organs for prosecution. The CCP's CDIC reported that 110,000 officials were disciplined for breaking laws and party discipline in 2005. Inspection committees stripped 11,071 persons of CCP membership, more than twice the number in 2004. In some cases, sanctions administered by the CDIC reportedly substituted for sanctions by courts and other legal agencies."

Document(s): Open document

24.10.2006 - Source: BBC News

China says it has punished 17,500 officials so far this year for corruption ("China cracks down on corruption") [ID 17885]

Document(s): Open document

28.09.2006 - Source: BBC News

Shanghai: After arresting Communist Party leader in Shanghai over pension fund charges another senior Shanghai official involved into the scandal ("China corruption scandal widens") [ID 17886]

Document(s): Open document

25.09.2006 - Source: Guardian

According to state media reports, Communist party chief of Shanghai has been fired in country's highest level corruption scandal in more than 10 years ("Shanghai's Communist party chief sacked in corruption purge") [ID 17887]

Document(s): Open document

25.07.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Newspaper editor was beaten to death by policeman in public; violence against journalists is increasing as press tackles issues of crime and corruption ("Policeman beats Guizhou editor to death in public") [ID 17183]

Document(s): Open document

15.06.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Longhui: People’s court imposes one-year prison sentence on journalist Yang Xiaoqing after convicting him on trumped-up charge of “extortion” ("Journalist who denounced local corruption gets a year in prison") [ID 17188]

Document(s): Open document

02.05.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Hunan province: Journalist Yang Xiaoqing, who reported on graft among local officials, to be tried on May 10 for extortion and blackmail; his lawyer does not think he will have a fair trial ("Yang Xiaoqing to be tried in Longhui County court") [ID 17191]

Document(s): Dokument

24.04.2006 - Source: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Response on civil unrest involving farmers, workers, homeowners and tenants, particularly in rural areas of Guangdong (conditions causing the unrest; government response; reports of arrests, beatings and detention) ("Civil unrest involving farmers, workers, homeowners and tenants, particularly in rural areas of Guangdong; conditions causing the unrest; government response; reports of arrests, beatings and detention (2004 - 2006) [CHN101063.EX]") [ID 21978]

Document(s): Open document

06.04.2006 - Source: Reporters Sans Frontières

Hunan province: Journalist Yang Xiaoqing detained since 22 January on doubtful charge of trying to extort 800,000 yuan (81,000 euros) from local officials for not accusing them of corruption in his newspaper reports; prior to arrest Yang spent 5 months in hiding after writing 2 articles about local corruption last year ("Journalist held in Hunan province after writing about local government corruption") [#48560],  [ID 17192]

Document(s): Open document

31.03.2006 - Source: International Federation for Human Rights

Liaoning Province: Former head and former chairman of village in Sujiatun District of Shenyang, have been exposing corruption among village officials, detained without giving reason ("Arbitrary detention - CHN 003 / 0306 / OBS 039") [#48249],  [ID 17195]

Document(s): Open document

01.02.2006 - Source: Transparency International

Global Corruption Report 2006 ("Global Corruption Report 2006") [#44269],  [ID 4439]

Document(s): Open document

01.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Petitioners – The Xinfang System ("World Report 2006") [#42330],  [ID 17334]

"Under China’s unique petitioning system, citizens dissatisfied with decisions by local officials or courts may write letters of complaint or appear in person at petition bureaus, and they may appeal to petition offices in regional capitals and even in Beijing. Repression of petitioners has increased as the number of petitions has grown.  
 
Aggrieved parties have learned that public pressure forces officials to pay attention to issues such as corruption, forced evictions, and police abuse, and millions have taken to filing petitions. Local and regional officials whose careers and income could be jeopardized by popular expressions of discontent have, in turn, relied on ever harsher measures to disperse petitioners, frequently employing “retrievers,” who use force to break up protests and forcibly return home petitioners congregating in Beijing or in provincial capitals.  
 
Although petitions are rarely effective, the growth in number and increased presence of petitioners in major urban areas has forced central authorities to confront systemic problems. New amendments to petitioning regulations, in effect since May 1, 2005, mandate punishment for those who retaliate against petitioners and for officials who fail to carry out their duties. The same regulations, however, restrict petitioner activism."

Document(s): Open document

10.10.2005 - Source: BBC News

Political activist missing after he was severely beaten as he tried to enter Taishi village at centre of corruption dispute ("Chinese activist attacked by mob") [#37423],  [ID 4440]

Document(s): Open document

05.09.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Continued often-violent protests by locals over corruption, land-grabs, taxation or environmental issues in rural areas; in response, security officials set up elite police squads in 36 cities to deal with riots and measures are taken to limit journalistic coverage of events ("China: Frustrated Citizens Take To The Streets") [#36267],  [ID 4441]

Document(s): Open document

01.09.2005 - Source: BBC News

Guangdong province: More than 80 people in Taishi village have vowed to continue their protest against alleged local corruption following their arrest for a hunger strike ("China villagers protest corruption") [#36154],  [ID 4442]

Document(s): Open document

04.2005 - Source: UK Home Office

Country Report April 2005 - Corruption ("Country Report - April 2005") [#31975],  [ID 4443]

"3.21 According to the NGO Transparency International (TI) and their Corruption Perception Index 2004, China is in the bottom half of the table when it comes to its own citizen’s perceptions of the level of corruption – it scored 3.4 out of ten (ten being zero perception of corruption). [8ma]

3.22 On 23 December 2003, China’s top Procurator told the official People’s Daily newspaper that official corruption was still rampant with over 38,000 cases filed in the first 11 months of 2003. [12m] On the 24 September 2004 the paper stated, “China’s Auditor-General Li Jinhua said that 1.4 billion yuan (US$170 million) had been misused in the 2003 budget after completion of the audit of 55 ministries and commissions under the State Council.” According to this report nearly 600 people were punished as a result of the audit. [12x]

3.23 As reported by the Guardian newspaper on 17 April 2004, almost 15,000 corrupt officials absconded or disappeared in 2003. The same source noted, “In the past five years prosecutors are said to have recovered less than £100m of up to £3.8bn stolen money sent overseas. Many of those who flee are senior members of the Communist party who have abused their power to amass illegal fortunes.” [16ag]

3.24 As reported by the BBC on 29 June 2004, the government’s anti-graft (anti-corruption) campaign is aimed specifically at stamping out official corruption. [9ba] On 16 July 2004 CNN reported that, “Liu Weifung, a former manager of several SOEs was convicted of embezzling more than 20 million yuan (US$2.42 million) and executed the same day. [10c] As reported by the BBC on 24 August 2004, “The wife of a leading Chinese anti-corruption official has lost both her legs after a bomb exploded at their home.” [9be]

3.25 On the 9 August 2004, the official People’s Daily newspaper reported that over 20,000 corruption cases had been investigated during the first half of 2004. [12v]

3.26 As reported in the Epoch Times on 30 August 2004, “Huang Jingao, the secretary of the Lianjiang county committee in Fujian province, has been facing intimidation from his superiors and the underworld, but Huang claims that he won’t ignore the corruption even if he may be sacked. Huang has worn a bulletproof vest for six years and has written his will twice.” [10ba]

3.27 As reported by the BBC on 23 January 2005, a former branch head with one of China’s four major state-owned banks has been sentenced to life imprisonment for embezzling 111m yuan (£7m)."

Document(s): Open document

31.08.2004 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

2 Chinese authors who wrote a banned book investigating local corruption and mistreatment of peasants in Anhui Province, sued ("China: Writers sued for libel") [#25340],  [ID 4444]

Document(s): Open document

20.08.2004 - Source: BBC News

Beijing: 6 Chinese women have threatened suicide during demonstration against corruption and trickery in China's courts ("China protesters threaten suicide") [#24868],  [ID 4445]

Document(s): Open document

29.06.2004 - Source: BBC News

A former provincial Communist Party leader in China has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to life in prison ("Chinese official gets life for graft") [#23664],  [ID 4446]

Document(s): Open document

30.01.2004 - Source: Guardian

Guardian: Corruption crackdown led to hundreds of Communist party suicides ("Corruption crackdown led to hundreds of Communist party suicides") [#19075],  [ID 4447]

"More than 1,200 Communist party members killed themselves and 8,000 fled overseas during an anti-corruption crackdown in the first six months of last year, the Chinese media reported yesterday.
The extraordinary number of deaths and the flight of dirty money appears to have been the direct result of a drive by the new president, Hu Jintao, to curb the endemic graft that undermines the legitimacy of China's ruling party.
Despite the high toll, the clean-up campaign is thought to have barely scratched the surface of the problem. Last year top officials were punished at the rate of one a month, but most are too powerful to expose.
Miscarriages of justice and faked suicides are believed to be common. Among the most prominent alleged suicides was that of Zhu Shengwen, a former deputy mayor of the north-eastern city of Harbin, who was sent to jail for taking £62,000 of bribes.
The official version of his death is that he threw himself out of a prison window only months before he was due to be released on parole. His family dispute this, saying he was killed to cover up his investigation into embezzlement by officials.
The biggest target of investigators was Zhou Zhengyi, a Shanghai property tycoon, whose influential political contacts - thought to include the former president Ziang Zemin - have so far kept the prosecutors at bay. Instead, lower ranking party members have taken the brunt of the blame.
According to the state-run Wen Wei Po daily, 1,252 party members killed themselves, 8,371 absconded and 6,528 disappeared in the first half of 2003. Countless others were given the death penalty or sent to prison.
The worst affected province was the richest - Guangdong, where 1,240 cadres fled overseas with illicitly earned fortunes. Many are known to be the sons and daughters of party officials, who have exploited their parents' power to secure state assets.
President Hu is said to be planning new moves to extradite these "princelings" and seize their overseas assets, estimated at more than £3.8bn. In the latest scandal Cai Xiaohong, the son of a former justice minister, was arrested for selling state secrets to Britain.
During two decades of free market reform, the 65 million-strong party has maintained its grip on power but lost its ideological sense of mission, providing the ideal breeding ground for corruption.
Although the economy is growing at more than 8% a year, income gaps between the rich and poor are widening. Yet party officials are still paid according to an egalitarian scale that gives little recognition of their authority. The difference between the salaries of a junior clerk and a division chief is typically less than £5 a month.
During the heyday of China's revolution, the model Communist cadre was supposed to pursue the goal of a socialist utopia, work for the good of the people, and retire with the respect due to a lifelong servant of the country.
But today many are likely to buy their way up the career ladder, enrich themselves through bribes, and then either flee the country or kill themselves in disgrace.
The higher the position, the greater the potential for graft. In Shenyang last year a court heard how the post of transport bureau director had been bought for £16,500, while that of director of the tobacco monopoly bureau went for £13,000. The holders of both positions were given the death penalty."

Document(s): Open document

17.12.2003 - Source: Washington Post

Washington Post: Chinese officials held in regional corruption probe ("Chinese Officials Held in Regional Corruption Probe") [#18251],  [ID 4448]

"Chinese authorities have detained more than 17 senior provincial and city officials in this southern city over the last two weeks following the arrest of the alleged leader of an organized criminal operation that specialized in gambling, prostitution, illegal bank loans and the laundering of drug money, official sources said.
Judges, senior police officials, prosecutors, tax collectors and agents from the Ministry of State Security were among those detained.
Underscoring the increasingly close connections between organized crime and politicians in China, the alleged gangster, Chen Kai, was a member of a local government agency called the Chinese People's Consultative Congress and jointly ran a hotel and gambling operation with that agency.
"He was like a local congressman," said a former business partner, "a congressman from Fuzhou." Chen also handed out stock in the more than 200 companies he controlled to scores of government officials, sources said. And he placed various retired officials or their children in high-paying jobs. [...]
Among those under investigation are Song Licheng, the deputy party secretary of Fuzhou responsible for the police, Zhi Dujiang, the deputy chief of the Fujian province state security bureau, and Xu Li, the son of the Fuzhou's former police chief.
Some officials implicated in the probe, including Xu's father, Xu Congrong, and a top deputy, have fled to the United States, which does not have an extradition treaty with China. [...]
At Music Plaza, many of the guests were government officials. Chen also hired former government officials, including senior police officers, to provide security at his properties. To share the wealth, he distributed stock in Music Plaza to business associates working in the police force, the courts and the city prosecutor's office, said a source in the central discipline committee of the Communist Party, the party's corruption watchdog. [...]
Arrests of senior city financial officials are planned, government officials said. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

01.12.2003 - Source: Guardian

A Chinese court sentenced 2 people to death and jailed dozens for smuggling more than 100 babies in the Guangxi province ("Death for China baby smugglers") [#17960],  [ID 4449]

"A Chinese court yesterday sentenced two people to death and jailed dozens for smuggling more than 100 babies in one of China's poorest provinces, state media said.
Since 2001, 118 babies were sold by medical staff from several hospitals in the Guangxi province city of Yulin to local smugglers for up to £17 each. The babies, doped and bundled into bags for cross-country journeys, were sold to smugglers in faraway provinces who in turn marketed them for up to £250, media reports said.

Four other defendants got death sentences suspended for two years and five were sentenced to life imprisonment, the official Xinhua news agency reported. [...]

Only one of the 118 smuggled babies was not a girl. China's stringent rules on family planning, which allow couples to have just one child, at least in the cities, and limits numbers elsewhere, have bolstered a traditional bias for male offspring, seen as the mainstay for ageing parents.

Xinhua said at the start of the trial last month that this mindset was a major reason for the smuggling."

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: UK Home Office

Country report of October 2003 ("Country Report - October 2003") [#49232],  [ID 4450]

"Crime and Corruption

3.7. In terms of Chinese Central Government Policy, official corruption and general crime are approached in similar ways, basically with an overarching policy objective, constantly stated and reaffirmed, turned into periodic campaigns (e.g. 'strike hard' and 'strike harder') and police actions. [1a][9gac.]

3.8. The Chinese authorities see public maladministration and corruption as undermining the Party's legitimacy. Three types of remedy are being deployed against it:

1. Managerial professionalism is being developed in public administration.
2. Legal restraints are reigning in 'street-level bureaucrats' such as police officers, increasing their accountability.
3. Politically there is increased governmental openness and responsiveness.

The most high profile case to date is that of Chen Keiji, the former Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC), who was executed in 2000."

Document(s): Open document

09.04.2003 - Source: Freedom House

Freedom House: Overview: Corruption ("The world`s most repressive regimes 2003") [#12683],  [ID 4451]

"Corruption, meanwhile, has flourished in a country that has a rapidly expanding economy but lacks independent courts, regulators, and investigative agencies and a free press. Corruption consumes 13 to 17 percent of economic output annually, according to official figures. Chinese authorities recently have responded by executing hundreds, possibly thousands, of people for corruption."

Document(s): Open document