Anti-corruption is Flavor of the Week
Aggregated Source: China Hearsay
September 27, 2006|
Since the Shanghai Party Secretary was shown the door, the anti-corruption stories have been out in number the past few days, including this one today from Xinhua.
It is often difficult to talk to foreigners about corruption in China. Some believe that it occurs everywhere and is just another part of doing business. I commented on this to a group of MBA students the other day (I was giving them the usual "Business and Law in China" speech), explaining that everything is not done through connections here anymore and that a lot of work can be accomplished by going through normal channels. Whether they believed me or not, I couldn't tell you.
It is also difficult to get past the generalizations to explain that the corruption issue is fairly complex and involves the tension between the central government and local government, non-performing loans and local debt, and most importantly the public's perception of government itself. Once you stop seeing the Chinese government as a monolith residing in Beijing, this becomes a little easier to figure out.
As an American, I know a thing or two about government corruption. In D.C., where I spent the last couple of years, such a thing is perfectly legal and is called lobbying. I lived a few blocks away from K St., the center of this activity. The tough part is that once the public becomes used to this and takes it for granted, as we do in the U.S., we are very skeptical of attempts to change the system from within by the same people that currently benefit from it. Therefore, while we enjoy seeing the downfall of corrupt politicans like Duke Cunningham from San Diego, or here the Shanghai Party Secretary, the public does not necessarily believe that the system will be thoroughly cleaned up.
Perceptions only change when policies change. In the U.S., if they stopped giving away money to the sugar lobby, then I would be impressed. If Bush and Cheney stopped giving tax breaks to oil companies, I would take notice. Here, I think people will reserve judgment on policies designed to deal with local land confiscation, environmental clean up, etc. Get the policies right, and it shows that the system is working right as well.
It is often difficult to talk to foreigners about corruption in China. Some believe that it occurs everywhere and is just another part of doing business. I commented on this to a group of MBA students the other day (I was giving them the usual "Business and Law in China" speech), explaining that everything is not done through connections here anymore and that a lot of work can be accomplished by going through normal channels. Whether they believed me or not, I couldn't tell you.
It is also difficult to get past the generalizations to explain that the corruption issue is fairly complex and involves the tension between the central government and local government, non-performing loans and local debt, and most importantly the public's perception of government itself. Once you stop seeing the Chinese government as a monolith residing in Beijing, this becomes a little easier to figure out.
As an American, I know a thing or two about government corruption. In D.C., where I spent the last couple of years, such a thing is perfectly legal and is called lobbying. I lived a few blocks away from K St., the center of this activity. The tough part is that once the public becomes used to this and takes it for granted, as we do in the U.S., we are very skeptical of attempts to change the system from within by the same people that currently benefit from it. Therefore, while we enjoy seeing the downfall of corrupt politicans like Duke Cunningham from San Diego, or here the Shanghai Party Secretary, the public does not necessarily believe that the system will be thoroughly cleaned up.
Perceptions only change when policies change. In the U.S., if they stopped giving away money to the sugar lobby, then I would be impressed. If Bush and Cheney stopped giving tax breaks to oil companies, I would take notice. Here, I think people will reserve judgment on policies designed to deal with local land confiscation, environmental clean up, etc. Get the policies right, and it shows that the system is working right as well.
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