Chinese province follows the Indian way to curb corruption

GUANGZHOU - The Indian approach to curbing corruption through public disclosure of assets of the high and mighty appears to have inspired China — with Guangdong province in south China deciding to launch a pilot project this year on the same lines.

The new project requires party and government officials to reveal their assets, as part of the latest move to curb corruption here, China Daily reported Friday.

According to Guangdong’s deputy Party chief Zhu Mingguo, the campaign will be introduced in designated cities and departments before the year-end and expanded to become province-wide in the coming years.

Zhu, who is also secretary of the provincial commission for discipline inspection, made these remarks in an annual work report at a plenary session of the commission recently.

But Zhu did not reveal any details about the project or mention if the information would be made public.

He also said a new system will be introduced this year to standardize protocol for officials’ acceptance of gifts, adding that Guangdong will also further reform policies regarding government car use.

“The moves aim to ensure honest and clean governance in Guangdong,” Zhu said while urging officials and civil servants to refuse invitations for banquets, sightseeing tours, and entertainment and fitness events unrelated to their work.

He also pledged to introduce more effective and concrete measures to fight corruption in 2011.

Last year, 31 of the province’s city-level Party and government officials were investigated for graft, figures from Guangdong’s commission for discipline inspection showed.

Guangdong’s commission for discipline inspection last year investigated 4,712 corruption cases involving 4,963 people, including 217 Party and government officials above county level.

Economic losses valued at more than 1.25 billion yuan ($190 million) had been retrieved in corruption cases.