Asset declarations under renewed push

The disclosure of officials' assets has emerged as a focus of the ongoing 18th Party congress after several high-ranking officials uttered their willingness to take the lead on the long-anticipated issue.

Viewed as a fundamental goal to help curb corruption, experts said systematic support should be put in place to guarantee the effective operation of the disclosure system.

Tian Lipu, a delegate to the congress and director of the State Intellectual Property Office, told reporters on Sunday that he would fully reveal his assets to the public should the central government arrange it.

"I would declare [the assets] truthfully and can have them made available to the public if I am required to," said Tian.

Tian's remarks came shortly after the Party Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee Yu Zhengsheng took a similar stance on the matter. He said Friday that the city has launched an asset declaration system, currently including housing, securities and various incomes while noting that a full disclosure system will be gradually set up.

Yu said it's easy for him to open his assets, as "I don't have too many properties."

Wang Yukai, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said although the asset reporting system has already been established, its effect has been limited, as "without compulsory disclosure, officials don't feel pressure," according to the Beijing Times.

As early as 1994, an asset declaration law was part of the year's legislative plan before being pulled.

In early October, a local urban management official in Guangdong Province was found to own 21 houses by Internet users. The Guangzhou discipline inspection authority later confirmed he actually owned 22 and expelled him from his post. His official declaration had shown he owned only two properties. 

Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said during the opening of the congress that fighting against corruption is a long-term political commitment.

"If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the Party, and even cause its collapse and the fall of the State," he warned.

"Unveiling officials' assets will surely exert positive influence on China's anti-corruption endeavors, but there should be relevant regulations in place to guarantee its effects," Yun Jie, director of the administration research department at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Lin Zhe, an anti-corruption expert with the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC, told the Global Times earlier that as the fight against corruption has reached a crucial stage, attempts to disclose officials' assets would be hindered by those holding vested interests.

Guangdong Party chief Wang Yang told media on Friday that his province has launched pilot projects about assets disclosure and will continue to explore the system.