Anti-corruption pilot to be launched in Nansha

A pilot project aimed at preventing and fighting government corruptionwill officially take effect after the lunar new year in Nansha district, a district of Guangzhou, Guangdong provincial capital.

Under the scheme, major Party and government officials will be required to report their assets, investments and the employment situation of their spouses and children, according to Mei Heqing, a member of the standing committee with the Guangzhou Party Commission for Discipline Inspection.

"Officials' assets will be made public and public opinion will be sought when the pilot project is introduced," Mei told a news conference in Guangzhou.

"Making information on government operation, and government and Party officials more transparent, by putting it in the public domain, will be an effective way to fight corruption

Mei said his commission is busy studying details and relevant regulations and rules for the pilot project, and the city government will soon send representatives to visit bordering Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions to learn of the successful anti-graft experiences in force there, and seek expansion of co-operation in the field.

In addition to Nansha, which situated at the mouth of the Pearl River, Hengqin new area in Zhuhai and Shixing county in the northern part of Guangdong have been selected as pilot areas where officials will be asked to reveal their assets later this year, according to authorities from Guangdong Provincial Party Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Han Zhipeng, a member of the Guangzhou Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said placing officials under the scrutiny of society and the media will help to further standardize official codes of conduct and help make government operations more transparent.

"Open and transparent government operations are important to prevent and fight official corruption," he added.

But government departments must also try to prevent the centralization of power by senior Party and government officials in coming years to keep corruption in check, he added.

The pilot project has been introduced after the province's anti-graft body investigated a number of senior Party and government officials in recent months.