Taming of official banquets urged to stem corruption

(Ecns.cn) -- Corruption is the most crucial threat to the ruling party, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday at the State Council's annual conference on anti-corruption, warning that rampant corruption may completely undermine the country's political foundations if not handled properly, according to Beijing News.

The comment was seen as a follow-up to Wen's remarks at this month's annual meeting of parliament, where he said that failure to act against graft and income disparity could rekindle the chaos of the Cultural Revolution.

Ask anyone to list the problems in China and corruption always ranks near the top, and anger over the problem has reached a point that mass incidents have become much more likely. Wasteful government spending on official receptions and banquets is considered a chief culprit behind the unrest.

According to an online survey of 10,844 people conducted by the Social Survey Center of China Youth Daily (CYD), 85.5 percent of the respondents believed that excessive banqueting is an abuse of power by officials and a very serious problem.

Anti-corruption measures ineffective

The issue of unchecked government feasting on the public's tab has raised widespread concern in society, and citizens have long complained of officials flagrantly misusing tax money.

Miss Li, a civil servant in Daqing of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, said she has deep feelings on the issue. According to Li, expensive mountain delicacies and seafood delights are only meager parts of a feast for a senior official, as local government departments continue to innovate new and more lavish ways to ingratiate themselves with high-ranking guests.

Moreover, competition to raise standards for banquets continues to stiffen, as local cadres vie for attention from senior officials in order to boost their own political careers, noted Li.

Liu Dan (alias), a civil servant in Beijing who accompanies senior officials to such activities, said that high-end liquor and pricey sea cucumbers are commonly seen at official banquets, and that well-prepared receptions are not only for senior officials, but also for civil servants at the same level.

Although the central government has repeatedly issued orders to limit such extravagance, boozy government banquets are still frequently seen, revealed Liu.

According to the CYD's survey, only 22.2 percent of the 10,844 respondents thought the central government's efforts to crack down on the abuse of power had been effective in the past, while 40.6 percent said it had been ineffective.

Ingrained part of the culture

Since 2006, China's central government has realized the seriousness of the profligacy involved in government banquets. That year, the State Council and the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee released regulations on spending for government receptions.

However, six years have passed and the abuse of public funds has become an even bigger challenge to the central government. According to the CYD survey, 71.7 percent of respondents blamed the problem on various countermeasures from governments at lower levels that conflict with the myriad anti-corruption laws and regulations. 52 percent said punishments for offenders are not harsh enough.

Officials dining at public expense do sometimes get caught with their pants down, but very few are punished. One of the rare unfortunates was Fu Pinghong, ex-head of a hospital in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, who was convicted in 2009 on corruption charges, including spending public money on meals. He was sentenced to 11 years in jail.

Wang Jingbo, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, said that the problem of excessive spending on government banquets has already become part of the country's administrative culture, which is ingrained and difficult to change.

But the root of the corruption lies in opaque financial information, noted Wang, as different government departments are obliged to publish their financial data to receive supervision from the government and the public.

National standard urged

After issuing a dire warning against the rising corruption within the CPC, Premier Wen told the anti-corruption meeting that he had pledged to improve the transparency of the Chinese government's operations and create more conditions for the public to supervise the government, according to Xinhua News Agency.

So far, 98 central government departments and some provincial and city governments have publicized expenditures on overseas trips, receptions and vehicles, but more work still needs to be done.

Wen said the use of public funds to buy cigarettes, fine wines and gifts should be prohibited and that disclosures of the "three public consumptions" should be made in more detail.

In the CYD's survey, 87.4 percent of the respondents urged a national standard for government receptions, and hoped that the standards would be open, forceful and feasible. Moreover, 77 percent demanded that the public should take part in the formulation of the standards.

Currently it is estimated that annual spending on receptions, vehicles and overseas travel amounts to roughly 300 billion yuan (US$47.7 billion) each, reported the China Economic Weekly.