In 1999, the Guangdong Discipline and Inspection Commission registered 4,199 cases of corruption, of which 1,762 were important ones (Xinhua 19 Feb. 2000). For the same year, based on Communist Party of China (CPC) and administrative disciplinary actions, 4,505 were punished for corrupt acts, including 35 department cadres and 307 section-level cadres (ibid.). These actions were part of an effort between the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the Discipline and Inspection Commission to investigate important cases of "violations committed by party and government leading organs, administrative law-enforcement organs, judicial organs, economic management departments, and leading cadres at and above county (section) level" (ibid.).

Yangcheng Wanbao reported in September 2000 that 144 cadres "at or above county and department levels" had been investigated for economic crimes, including corruption and bribery, between January and August 2000 in Guangdong province (27 Sept. 2000). The Guangdong Provincial People's Procuratorate had registered and investigated a total of 1,335 cases of economic crimes throughout the province for the above-mentioned period (ibid.). Xinhua reported in November 2000 that 172 officials in Guangdong province had been punished for embezzlement and bribery since January 2000 (21 Nov. 2000). Over 100 million yuan was recouped by local procuratorates in the province (ibid.). In the first ten months of 2000, 3,295 cases involving embezzlement and bribes were handled by the Guangdong's local procuratorates (ibid.).

Several reports describe efforts by the Chinese and Guangdong governments to stamp out corruption.

In 1998, "the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued Regulations for Implementing a Party Style and a Clean Government Building Responsibility System," of which Guangdong had adopted and implemented at all levels of its provincial government (Xinhua 19 Sept. 2000). By August 2000, 13,481 provincial government units in Guangdong had implemented measures of the Regulations (ibid.). In 1999, Guangdong authorities investigated the cases of 401 individuals who had allegedly violated "the provisions of the responsibility system"; between January and August 2000, there were 180 such cases being investigated against high-level cadres (ibid.).

As part of its national campaign against corruption, officials of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Discipline Inspection Commission (CDIC) visited various localities, including some in Guangdong province, to investigate cases of corruption, bypassing local governments (Ming Pao 8 Aug. 2000). For example, while in Guangdong in April 2000, officials of the CPC and the CDIC facilitated the investigation of Wang Ju, former Shenzhen Vice-Mayor, for alleged "dereliction of duty and corruption" (ibid.). Other efforts to combat corruption included the Guangdong Provincial Justice Department issuing corruption prevention guidelines for its officials and their subordinates (Xinhua 16 Aug. 2000). The guidelines outlined the prohibition of promotion to Department officials whose staff was "found guilty of violating disciplinary regulations or the criminal law" (ibid.). The guidelines were produced as a result of "abuses" among departmental staff in recent years (ibid.).

In 2000, the State Council discovered a number of cases involving "rampant fraud related to export drawback" in Guangzhou's tax administration offices (Xinhua 14 Mar. 2001). Local government officials were reported as saying that there would be "heavy penalties" for the same kind of fraud in 2001 (ibid.).

Several cases of officials being arrested or sentenced for corruption in Guangdong province were reported in the media in the last few years. Some examples of these cases follow.

In March 1999, in a probe headed by Chinese president Jiang Zemin, Cao Xiujang, Zhanjiang City customs director, was detained for his alleged involvement in "taking bribes to allow smuggling activities" (AFP 10 Mar. 1999). The Guangdong province procuratorate was also investigating the cases of many other Zhanjiang custom officials for alleged bribery and smuggling (ibid.). It was reported in August 2000, that 331 people in Zhanjiang were involved in the smuggling case, including 259 officials (Hong Kong i-Mail 10 Aug. 2000). Nanfang Radio reported on 11 May 2000 that Lin Guikang, former manager of the Nanhai City Local Resources Development, would be sentenced to death for embezzlement, misappropriation and misuse of public funds, and bribery. The most serious case of embezzlement involved the arrest of Zhang Juan in Guangzhou by authorities of the anti-corruption and bribery bureau of the Shunde People's Procuratorate in May 2000 (Zhongguo Tongxun She 13 May 2000). Zhang Juan allegedly embezzled 2.7 million yuan of public funds from September 1997 to July 1999 (ibid.). Also in May 2000, a Guangdong manager received the death penalty for tax evasion and a bank employee was executed for embezzlement (Ningxia Ribao 20 May 2000). In August 2000, a senior party official in Shenzhen was under investigation for alleged connections to the country's largest corruption case involving 200 million yuan in bribes for land (Hong Kong i Mail 8 Aug. 2000). In January 2001, five city officials in Jieyang and Chaoyang were arrested for alleged participation in the "Chaoshan 100-billion yuan tax fraud case" (ibid. 31 Jan. 2001). The five officials were arrested by the central government's Discipline Inspection Commission, which was established on 7 August 2000 (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 10 March 1999. "China Detains Zhanjiang Customs Chief in Probe Headed by President." (NEXIS)

Hong Kong i-Mail. 10 August 2000. "Beijing Braces for Landmark $47m Corruption Trial Involving 300 Officials." (NEXIS)

_____. 8 August 2000. Pamela Pun. "Ex-Shenzhen Party Chief Probed." (NEXIS)

Ming Pao [Hong Kong, in Chinese]. 31 January 2001. "5 PRC Local Officials Arrested for Involvement in 100-Billion Tax Fraud." (FBIS-CHI-2001-0131/WNC)

_____. 8 August 2000. "CDIC Launches Nationwide Crackdown on Corruption." (FBIS-CHI-2000-0808/WNC)

Nanfang Radio [Guangzhou, in Chinese]. 11 May 2000. "Guangdong Official Sentenced to Death for Corruption." (BBC Summary 20 May 2000/NEXIS)

Ningxia Ribao [Yinchuan, in Chinese]. 20 May 2000. "Death Sentences, Executions in China, May, June." (BBC Summary 11 June 2000/NEXIS)

Xinhua. 14 March 2001. "Guangzhou Tax Administration Vows to Combat Corruption." (FBIS-CHI-2001-0314/WNC)

_____. 21 November 2000. "Guangdong Punishes 172 Officials for Embezzlement, Accepting Bribes." (FBIS-CHI-2000-1121/WNC)

_____. 19 September 2000. "PRC Guangdong Implements Clean Government Responsibility System." (FBIS-CHI-2000-0919/WNC)

_____. 16 August 2000. "PRC's Guangdong Justice Issues Tough Corruption Prevention Guidelines." (FBIS-CHI-2000-0816/WNC)

_____. 19 February 2000. "PRC: Guangdong Punishes Cadres for Corruption." (FBIS-CHI-2000-0219/WNC)

Yangcheng Wanbao [Guangzhou, in Chinese]. 27 September 2000. "Guangdong Reports 1,335 Cases of Economic Crimes This Year." (BBC Summary 30 Sept. 2000/NEXIS)

Zhongguo Tongzun She [Hong Kong, in Chinese]. 13 May 2000. "PRC Inspector Arrested for Embezzlement of Public Funds." (FBIS-CHI-2000-0513/ WNC)