Friends with Benefits

Do you disapprove of corruption？ For many Chinese people， the answer to this question is not a simple “yes or no.”Often， it depends on what they stand to gain.

In the few months since the new leadership took office in midNovember， a range of high-profile investigations into senior officials have been announced. This renewed enthusiasm is nothing new a few unlucky senior officials are punished whenever the nation’s leaders commit to a hard-line stance on corruption. The public always approves.

Since China began its program of Reform and Opening-up in the late 1970s， the lack of progress in the fight against corruption has always been one of the biggest sources of public dissatisfaction with the government. With this in mind， both the outgoing leader Hu Jintao and the new General Secretary Xi Jinping have warned against the potentially “fatal” damage that corruption can inflict on the Communist Party’s rule and the country as a whole.

At the same time though， individuals have a very high tolerance， even extending to approval， of many forms of corruption， as long as they benefit from it. Minor corruption by junior officials or even non-officials is generally ignored. This “micro-corruption，” experts warn， makes the fight against corruption even more difficult.

Mass Participation

A survey released at the end of 2012 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences （CASS） research center on clean governance shows that 91.7 percent of respondents thought that more effort was needed in the fight against corruption. 100 percent saw corruption as a“national challenge” in another survey conducted between May and December 2012 by the People’s Tribune， a well-known magazine under State mouthpiece the People’s Daily.

Corruption has become so commonplace that it has become something of a lifestyle. The CASS survey has confirmed that resorting to personal connections is now the knee-jerk response for many people， whether they are making an appointment with a doctor， finding a school for their kids， looking for a job， or dealing with a lawsuit. These connections certainly do not come for free. This is a real market， with both buyers and sellers.

Over the past few years， many young white-collar workers have chosen to leave big cities like Beijing， Shanghai and Guangzhou， and returned to their hometowns to escape high living costs， heavy workloads and discrimination against their lack of a local household registration. However， many soon returned. According to analysis in the People’s Daily in October 2011， one of the major reasons was that they found that powerful connections were even more essential to a person’s life and career in the provinces than in big cities. According to the article， when doing business， a lavish banquet or the correct gift are often much more effective than a well-designed business plan.

This day-to-day corruption in most cases only involves people with resources directly related to their work responsibilities school teachers， or a member of staff in a client company， for example. It is even common practice for Chinese doctors to accept “pocket money” from their patients.

In May 2012， a professor on a committee reviewing applications for a college lecturer qualification in Hunan Province designated a specific hotel room as the venue for bribe delivery. Business was booming before the local government shut him down. In 2006， the Ministry of Education set up an office tasked with containing academic misconduct， but it is common knowledge that China’s academic institutions are no safe haven when it comes to corruption.

Since at least 2010， some elementary and middle schools have openly told their employees not to accept gifts from parents on Teachers’ Day， which falls on September 10. These gifts are reported to have ranged from department store gift cards to job offers to teachers’ family members.

Professor Lin Zhe with the Communist Party School pointed out that corruption was quickly spreading to very low-level officials， or even ordinary clerical staff in public institutions. “Many of them believe they should use this power as long as they have it，” he said in an article in the Legal Daily in December 2009. One such lowlevel bureaucrat Zhai Zhenfeng， a housing administration official in Zhengzhou， Henan Province， was placed under investigation after he was found to be in ownership of 29 separate houses.

Various multinational giants， including Siemens， Rolls-Royce， Walmart and Coca-Cola， have been investigated or punished ironically， by regulators of the US and their home countries， or through their internal probes for giving or receiving bribes in various countries， including China， over the past few years.

Tasty Tofu？

It must be noted that in many cases， those offering the bribes actually deserve whatever it is they want. For example， in the case of the professor on the review committee， applicants essentially believed they were buying a place on a level playing field. Doctors’ salaries are notoriously low， leading some to believe that they are justified in taking bribes. In the case involving the corrupt professor， some netizens argued that he was making a fair deal， since he promised to refund the money if the application failed.

Worse still， the People’s Tribune commented in an editorial in September 2009 that on the one hand， people hate the abuse of power， but on the other， they covet the privilege that it can bring. As criticized by the article， those who climb the ladder of power through dishonest means like bribery are often admired by the people around them.

Where there is personal interest， there is “100 percent tolerance”towards “micro-corruption，” according to the CASS report. This is why corruption is known as “stinky tofu” in today’s society， named after a foul-smelling but popular Chinese snack.

When it is taken for granted in society that power is only a means to personal benefits for those who have access to it， Professor Lin told NewsChina， it becomes “a cultural hotbed for the growth of corruption.” Professor Li Qiufang， who led the CASS research， stressed in an interview with NewsChina that only acute public disapproval of corruption can provide a strong impetus to the anti-corruption campaign.

Most blame the bad example set by corrupt officials， and a social environment that systematically puts law-abiding people， officials or not， at a disadvantage.

Corruption is “both hated and desired by everyone，” said Professor Sun Liping with Peking University， in a popular article on the People’s Daily Online in February 2011. He said that it not only undermines any effort in the fight against corruption， but is “a catalyst that will push society to abnormality.”