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July 13, 2010

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Public likes rules for Party

Thousands of Chinese have joined heated discussion about new rules designed to curb corruption and increase transparency about the assets of government officials.

A regulation that took effect on Sunday extends the list of declarable assets for officials and introduces dismissal as the maximum penalty for failing to report assets honestly and promptly.

The regulation adds six items to the list of declarable assets issued in 2006, bringing the total to 14. The new items include income from sources like lecturing, painting and calligraphy; homes owned by spouses and children; and equities and investments owned by officials, spouses and children.

The new rules have struck a public chord and almost 50,000 people left comments on China's two biggest Internet portal websites yesterday. Thousands more joined the discussion on other news sites and discussion forums.

More than 36,500 people made online comments on a news entry about the regulation on leading portal Sohu.com as of 1:30pm, and more than 11,000 comments on an entry at Sina.com.cn.

Most of the published posts welcomed the rules, but some said they should go further.

"The fight against corruption has a long way to go, but I am really glad to see each firm step taken by the central authorities," said a posting from Shanghai on Sina.

"We want to see more detailed provisions and harsher punishments in the rule," said "Shihuiwen 197" on Sohu.

The new regulation requires officials at deputy county chief level and above to annually report their assets, marital status and whereabouts and employment of family members.

New requirements for officials to report homes and investments reflect the need to change disciplinary structures in line with shifting social and economic values, said Professor Liu Chun, deputy dean of the Graduate Institute of the Central Party School.

"This is targeting new problems in social development," said Liu. "Society has been eagerly calling for the reporting of officials' affairs, and the Party's latest move complies with public opinion."

Ren Jianming, director of the anti-corruption and governance research center of Tsinghua University, said, "Corrupt officials take bribes not only in cash, but also in property, stocks and share rights, so the latest regulation effectively patches the hole."

According to the regulation, if officials fail to declare their assets honestly or promptly, they could face dismissal - the harshest penalty under the new regulation. Previously the most severe punishment was "criticism" of the offending official in a public notice




 

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