China vows to bust more bribery cases

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 09-29-2007 15:22

A Senior Chinese official has called for more efforts to bust major commercial bribery cases and a long term solution to prevent its spread.

Deputy-Director of the Leading Group of the Anti-Commercial Bribery Group of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee -- Li Yufu-- made the remarks at a press conference on Saturday in Beijing.

This is the third time in 2 years that the Anti-Commercial Bribery Group of the Central Committee of the CPC has exposed new cases. It's also a chance for them to demonstrate the determination of the CPC to prevent officials and business people from engaging in illicit activities.

Li Yufu, Deputy-Director of Anti-Bribery Group of the Central Committee of the CPC, said, "First, we have strengthened our efforts to investigate and punish commercial bribery cases. Secondly, we have reinforced supervision and adopted new regulations to curb the problems. Thirdly, we are aiming to establish a long-term preventative system to attack its roots. "

20 new cases were released at the press conference, but they are only the tip of the iceberg. According to Li Yufu, over 30,000 commercial bribery cases were dealt with in China in the past two years involving some 7 billion yuan-- or 900 million US dollars.

Commercial bribery exists in almost every sector in China. Officials or business executives sometimes abuse their power to gain personal benefit. One such official was the former head of the Administration of Food and Drugs, Zheng Xiaoyu. He was investigated and sentenced to death in July.

Xiong Xuanguo, Vice President of the Supreme People's Court said that the number of cases featuring corporate wrong-doings rose 37 percent this year. He said the education of civil servants is crucial to prevent these crimes.

Li Yufu said that although the crack down on commercial bribery has achieved remarkable results, there is still a long way to go. The Anti-Commercial Bribery Group will continue to make joint efforts with different governmental entities to stamp out such crimes.

China has rules and regulations to fight against commercial bribery. But there are loopholes. As the government combats this problem, a more comprehensive and effective Anti-Commercial Bribery Law is needed to protect fair competition.

Editor:Zhang Ning