WORLD: FAREWELL TO HILLARY CLINTON P.20 | BUSINESS: TUSSLING OVER TARIFFS P.32

VOL.56 NO.2 JANUARY 10, 2013 WWW.BJREVIEW.COM WEB TRAP Chinese netizens sniff out corruption online

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VOL.56 NO.2 JANUARY 10, 2013 CONTENTS

THE DESK » A New Means of Supervision 02 14 Cover Story THIS WEEK COVER STORY WORLD » Clinton’s Legacy 20 Hillary Clinton impacts ties » An EU Opening 22 Central and Eastern Europe closer to China NATION 28 Now, Watchmen Watching Nation Watches » Talk of the Township 26 Netizens on the lookout for corrupt Civic participation in China Show and Tell officials Swapping stories in human libraries BUSINESS » Time to Settle Tariff Disputes 32 Progress depends on trade resolution » More Proactive? 36 18 Moving toward tax reform World » Market Watch 40 CULTURE » Bridging Cultures 44 Learning from a veteran translator FORUM 38 Prosperity for All » How to Make It Easier to China stands firm on win-win policy Business Take a Taxi? 46 EXPAT’S EYE No Spring Chicken » The Spirit of Making Do 48 Scandal over hormone-pumped poultry A holiday away from home

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A News Weekly Magazine Published Since 1958 http: //www.bjreview.com E-mail: [email protected]

President & Editor in Chief: Wang Gangyi Vice President: Qi Wengong Associate Editors in Chief: Li Jianguo, Huang Wei, Wang Yanjuan, Zhou Jianxiong Assistant President: Li Zhenzhou Assistant Editor in Chief: Wa Chunfang Executive Editor: Ding Zhitao A New Means of

Assistant Executive Editors: Yao Bin, Zhang Zhiping Editorial Administrators: Zhang Xiaoli, Shi Bosen Senior Consultant: Shao Haiming Opinion Editor: Zan Jifang Supervision World Editor: Yan Wei In 2012, the Internet not only changed people’s way of life, but also altered the fate of certain Nation Editor: Yao Bin Business Editors: Yu Shujun, Lan Xinzhen Chinese officials. Microblogging offered a new means of exposing corruption online. Some Culture Editor: Liu Yunyun experts say that microblogs have grown from a tool of information publication and social inter- Editorial Consultants: Joseph Halvorson, Evan Z. Hall, action to a means of supervising the government. Elvis Anber, Jacques Smit Staff Reporters: Tang Yuankai, Ding Ying, Ding Wenlei, Wang Jun, Li Li, Microblogging has become a powerful anti-corruption weapon due to its ability to quickly Yin Pumin, Liu Yu, Pan Xiaoqiao, Yuan Yuan, Wang Hairong, Liu Xinlian, and widely spread information. A photo or video exposing corruption, uploaded to a microblog, Yu Yan, Yu Lintao, Zhou Xiaoyan, Bai Shi, Xu Tao, Deng Yaqing, Ji Jing can grab enormous amounts of attention with considerable effect. Photo Editor: Wang Xiang Photographer: Wei Yao Successful anti-corruption cases in 2012 followed similar lines: an insider would expose Art: Li Shigong corruption via a microblog, the message of which would spread far and wide before other Art Director: Wang Yajuan media channels picked up on the incident. Such efforts have ultimately led to the expulsion of Chief Designer: Cui Xiaodong Designer: Zhao Boyu corrupt officials. Proofreading: Qin Wenli, Ma Xin Thanks to the rapid development of information technology, microblogs are playing an in- Distribution Director: Pan Changqing creasingly important role in keeping tabs on government wrongdoing, human trafficking and Human Resources: Hou Jin violence, actively involving the Chinese people in politics. International Cooperation: Zhang Yajie However, despite exposing corruption, microblogs still offer little in terms of solving the Legal Counsel: Yue Cheng problem. China needs to make governmental affairs more transparent, enhance supervision, North America Bureau Chief: Huang Wei strengthen disciplinary inspection and restrict official power according to law. Tel/Fax: 1-201-792-0334 , newly elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central E-mail: [email protected] Committee, said that if corruption goes unchecked, Party rule will be jeopardized. He stressed General Editorial Office that anti-corruption will remain a top priority for the Chinese Government. In November Tel: 86-10-68996252 2012, immediately after the 18th CPC National Congress, a number of government officials, Fax: 86-10-68326628 English Edition including some at the ministerial level, were investigated for corruption. , former Tel: 86-10-68996259 Deputy Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC, was expelled from his post Advertising Department for serious disciplinary violations only 18 days after being elected as an alternate member of Tel: 86-10-68995813 Fax: 86-10-68329398 the 18th CPC Central Committee. Such anti-corruption efforts reflect the Party’s increasing E-mail: [email protected] determination to fight the problem. Distribution Department It is hoped that microblogs would continue their role in fighting corruption and that an ef- Tel: 86-10-68310644 n Fax: 86-10-68328738 fective system will be established to prevent such incidents. E-mail: [email protected] Published every Thursday by BEIJING REVIEW, 24 Baiwanzhuang Lu, Beijing 100037, China. Overseas Distributor: China International Book Trading Corporation (Guoji Shudian), P. O. BOX 399, Beijing 100044, China Tel: 86-10-68413849, 1-416-497-8096 (Canada) Fax: 86-10-68412166 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.cibtc.com WRITE TO US General Distributor for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan: Peace Book Co. Ltd. Send an e-mail: [email protected] 17/Fl, Paramount Bldg, 12 Ka Yip St, Chai Wan, HK Tel: 852-28046687 Fax: 852-28046409 Please provide your name and address along with your submissions. Beijing Review (ISSN 1000-9140 USPS 2812) is published weekly in the Submissions may be edited. United States for US$64.00 per year by Cypress Books, CHINA...... RMB6.00 U.S.A...... USD1.70 AUSTRALIA...... AUD3.00 UK...... GBP1.20 360 Swift Avenue, Suite 48, South San Francisco, CA 94080 CANADA...... CAD2.60 SWITZERLAND...... CHF2.60 JAPAN...... JPY188 EUROPE...... EURO1.90 News Postage Paid at South San Francisco, CA 94080 TURKEY...... YTL5.00 HK...... HKD9.30 NEPAL...... RS40 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Beijing Review, Cypress Books, 360 Swift Avenue, Suite 48, 北京周报 英文版 2013年 第2期 ISSN 1000-9140 广告许可证 0171号北京市期刊登记证第733号 Available on App Store South San Francisco, CA 94080 邮发代号2-922·国内统一刊号：CN11-1576/G2 国内零售价：人民币6.00元

2 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com THIS WEEK WEI YAO

NEW YEAR CELEBRATION A light show illuminates the Summer Palace, a well-preserved imperial garden in Beijing, on the night of December 31, 2012. Thousands of revelers gathered there to welcome the New Year. http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 3 THIS WEEK SOCIETY LIU XUEBIN HE JUNCHANG Navigation Service Launched The China Satellite Navigation per second and one-way timing Office announced the Beidou accuracy of 50 nanoseconds. Navigation Satellite System’s The office issued a docu- availability for civilian use at a ment in Chinese and English press conference in Beijing on specifying signal-interface December 27, 2012. relations between the Beidou Spokesperson Ran Chengqi system and receivers. Release provided technical specifications of the specifications is expected for China’s indigenous naviga- to facilitate the development of tion system, which is comparable Beidou applications by Chinese to the United States’ Global and foreign enterprises. Positioning System in general China launched the system’s functionality and performance, first satellite in 2000, and a but more cost-effective. preliminary version of Beidou has Beidou provides positioning, been used in traffic control, weather navigation, timing and short forecasting and disaster relief work message services, with position- on a trial basis since 2003. Beidou ing accuracy of 10 meters, consists of 16 navigation satellites velocity accuracy of 0.2 meters and four experimental satellites.

The decision is meant to ensure According to the regulation, On January 1, 2013, 496 sites Internet Regulation information security, protect citizens’ “Network service providers will ask in 74 major Chinese cities began The Standing Committee of the lawful rights, and safeguard national users to provide genuine identifica- monitoring PM2.5 data. Information National People’s Congress, China’s security interests. Among the 12 tion information when signing on particulate matter in China used top legislature, adopted legally articles is an identity management agreements to grant them access to to be limited to particulate matter 10 binding regulations to strengthen policy requiring Internet users to use the Internet, fixed-line telephone or microns or less in diameter. online information protection on their real names to identify them- mobile telecommunication services Live air quality data are provided December 28, 2012. selves to service providers. or to allow users to post information at the center’s website, www.cnemc. publicly.” cn. A mobile phone application is PENG ZHAOZHI also available. China’s urban air quality moni- Air Quality Data toring will proceed in stages, with all The China National Environmental prefecture-level cities slated to begin Monitoring Center released air PM2.5 monitoring by 2016. quality data including intensity of fine particulate matter less than 2.5-micron diameter (PM2.5) on New Tariff Exemptions Year’s Day. The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) provided tariff-free treatment to an additional 14 types of mainland goods and 30 products from Taiwan, as the third stage of tariff exemptions took effect under the Early Harvest  Program on January 1, 2013. A total of 806 items—539 UNDER CONTROL mainland goods and 267 products A policewoman directs traffic at an from Taiwan—have been desig- intersection in Yinchuan, northwest China’s nated for tariff-free treatment since Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as China’s revised traffic regulations impose harsher 2011. penalties from January 1, 2013 Implemented two years ago, the

4 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com  THIS WEEK CHEN HAINING

 China Sea, adding that these coun- and medium-sized rivers, bringing tries have reached a consensus on death tolls from floods down by 50 China leading the establishment of percent,” Chen said. MIGRATORY the warning system. The government aims to build RESIDENT The move came after the SOA dams and levees on more than released an international coopera- 5,000 rivers by 2015 and speed Seagulls fly over a lake in Cuihu Park in tion framework for the South China up the construction of early warn- Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, on January 1, 2013. More than Sea and other neighboring sea areas ing systems for floods and storm 35,000 seagulls from Siberia will spend the in January 2012. tides, according to a 2011 Central winter in Kunming this year The framework included plans Government statement. for China to cooperate with neigh- The government plans to boring countries to explore and double annual spending on water program is designed to allow people utilize maritime resources, reduce conservation during the 2011-20 on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to oceanic disasters and develop the period. In 2010, 200 billion yuan enjoy the boons of the ECFA before maritime economy. ($32 billion) was invested. the full liberalization of mainland- Taiwan economic ties. Signed in June 2010, the ECFA Water Investment Curbing Fraud A regulation aimed at punishing is a preferential trade deal to reduce Administration (SOA). China spent a record 430.3 billion academic fraud took effect on tariffs and commercial barriers. “Tsunamis don’t occur fre- yuan ($69 billion) to improve water January 1, 2013. The regulation speci- From January 2011 to October quently, but they always result in utilities in 2012, said Minister of Water fies buying, selling or organizing 2012, the program has exempted significant damage. In the South Resources Chen Lei on December the trade of academic degree theses China Sea, earthquakes and tsuna- 28, 2012. Taiwan’s businesses from $551 mil- as fraudulent behavior subject to mis in the Manila Trench near the Investment in water conservation lion in tariffs, according to Xinhua punishment in addition to plagiarism Philippines are a real possibility,” amounted to 775.5 billion yuan ($124 News Agency. and fabricating data. said Zhang Zhanhai, head of the billion) in 2011 and 2012, surpassing According to the regulation, col- SOA’s International Cooperation the amount invested during the 11th leges shall revoke degrees and ban Disaster Warnings Department, at a press conference Five-Year Plan period (2006-10), applicants from postgraduate study China is leading a cooperative effort on December 27, 2012. according to Chen. for three years if they plagiarize or to set up a tsunami and hurricane Zhang said that China is capable “In 2012, China reinforced 5,400 commit fraud in their undergraduate warning system in the South China of sending tsunami warnings to small reservoirs and harnessed theses. Sea, according to the State Oceanic other countries around the South critical stretches of 2,209 small HOU JIANSEN Going to Sea

Tourists spend New Year’s Day on a beach in Sanya, south China’s Hainan Province. The National Tourism Administration of China launched the Year of Marine Tourism in Sanya on January 1, 2013. Zhu Shanzhong, deputy head of the administration, said that he hoped the program will help boost the development of marine tourism resources, as well as bring Chinese citizens closer to the ocean throughout the year.

http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 5 THIS WEEK ECONOMY LIANG FUYING A Connection At Last

A freight truck travels on the Qinzhou-Chongzuo Expressway in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which was put into use on December 31, 2012. The 129-km expressway is the first one to link Guangxi’s mountainous areas to the out- side world.

final manufacturing PMI rose to a “Some media have reported industry is expected to witness PMI Rebounds 19-month high of 51.5, thanks to lost mail and problems with sorting galloping growth over the next few China’s Purchasing Managers’ stronger new business in-take and among some express delivery com- years. Index (PMI) for the manufacturing expansion of production, according panies,” said the State Post Bureau Deliveries will rise 21 percent sector remained at 50.6 percent in to figures released by HSBC on on December 31, 2012. annually, with revenues expected to December, said the China Federation December 31, 2012. More investigations should be grow 20 percent on average, accord- of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) Activities in the non-manufactur- carried out in response to the media ing to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) on January 1. The data are based on ing sector also continued to improve reports and consumer complaints, for the Express Delivery Industry. a survey of purchasing managers in in December. and local postal branches should more than 820 companies and 20 The PMI for the non-manu- further supervise the sector in order industries. facturing sector was 56.1 percent in to improve service, said the bureau. Ensuring Gas Supply It was the third consecutive December, up 0.5 percentage points As online shopping continues China National Petroleum Corp., the month the PMI figure was above 50 from November, according to the to boom, China’s express delivery country’s largest natural gas sup- percent, which demarcates expan- CFLP. sion from contraction, said the CFLP. Cai Jin, Vice Chairman of the YAN YAN CFLP, said the continued expansion Permits Canceled suggested a moderate economic Chinese postal authorities said recovery trend and a positive start the permits of 116 express delivery for the economy in the new year. companies were canceled in 2012 However, Zhang Liqun, an ana- and urged greater supervision amid lyst with the Development Research a series of reports on problems with Center of the State Council, said the the booming sector.

economic rebound was still weak as  the December PMI data stayed at the same level as November. Judging from the decline in DIGGING DEEPER the sub-index of new export orders, A machine of the Shanxi Xishan Lanyan Zhang said the country’s export sec- Coal-bed Methane Co. extracts coal-bed tor remained precarious. methane, a type of clean energy, from a well in December’s HSBC China Gujiao, Shanxi Province, to cope with surging energy demand in winter

6 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com THIS WEEK

ZHU ZHENG Numbers

8% The growth target for China’s foreign trade in 2013, according to the Ministry of Commerce

92 The number of passenger trains that  were added to meet The demand for natural gas has Fitch Solutions Asia Pacific. the needs of increased substantively, driven by He said China is a leader in the travelers during the APPEALING the continuous rain and snow that financial information service indus- fell on north China this winter. try, with a market value of $25 billion three-day New Year FOLK ARTS In response, the authorities have a year. holiday (January 1-3), Visitors observe the production of the urged major gas producers to give The State Council relaxed according to the traditional Chinese decorative knot in Ji’nan, priority to residential needs, public regulations on the distribution of Ministry of Railways capital of east China’s Shandong Province on January 1, 2013 facilities and transportation. financial information services by foreign institutions in October 2012. plier, pledged to increase its output Fitch Given Go Putz said China-based investors to meet surging domestic demand and market participants are increas- amid the current gas crunch caused Ahead ingly hungry for real-time financial 78.7 mln information, offering a ready market by a colder winter. Global rating agency Fitch Solutions The passenger announced on January 2 that it will for Fitch Solutions’ products such The company has asked its throughput from the major oil and gas fields to oper- distribute its credit ratings, data and as credit research and ratings and ate at full capacity and started research services on the Chinese quantitative risk and performance Shanghai Pudong purchasing liquefied natural gas to mainland. tools. Airport and Shanghai meet surging needs. “We are pleased to be certified Fitch Solutions is a division Hongqiao Airport in In addition, it will boost gas as one of 80 official foreign institu- of the Fitch Group, as well as the 2012, nearly triple imports from central Asia to address tions providing financial information distribution channel for Fitch Ratings that of a decade ago, the shortage. in China,” said Oliver Putz, head of content. according to the Shanghai Airport LIN HONG Authority Fuel Surcharge Cuts A plane waits to be refueled in 40 mln tons Changchun Longjia Airport in northeast China on January 1, 2013. The amount of crude On that day, many airliners cut oil produced by their fuel surcharges. Air China’s fuel PetroChina’s Daqing surcharge on routes from the Chinese Oilfield in northeast mainland to Hong Kong, for one, was China in 2012, reduced from 203 yuan ($32.58) to 186 according to the China yuan ($29.85). National Petroleum Corp., the parent company of PetroChina http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 7 THIS WEEKWORLD XINHUA

 INDIA Indians attend a candlelight vigil to mourn the death of a 23-year-old gang rape victim in New Delhi on December 29, 2012. Protesters demanded swift justice for the woman, who died in a hospital in Singapore after clinging to life for 12 days YANG LEI

THE UNITED STATES  Vanessa Natalie Manjarrez (top center), a local student, reigns as Rose Queen at the 124th AFGHANISTAN annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, the largest New Year celebration in the west- An Afghan refugee carries winter relief supplies ern United States, on January 1, 2013 distributed in Kabul on January 1, 2013 XINHUA

8 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com   JERUSALEM BRAZIL Israeli pianist Arie Vardi (right) performs together with a Chinese People play at the Arpoador beach in Rio de girl at the Jerusalem Music Center Janeiro on December 29, 2012. Hot weather has on January 1, 2013 as part of a baked the Southern Hemisphere city, with the China-Israel joint piano course temperature three days earlier hitting a record high of 43.2 degrees Celsius WENG XINYANG YIN DONGXUN XINHUA

 NEPAL Elephants play a game of soccer during the International Elephant Festival in south Nepal’s Chitwan on December 27, 2012

http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 9 THIS WEEKPEOPLE

“People should enjoy equal political, economic and  Outstanding Athlete cultural rights, regardless of whether they live in cities or in the countryside.” Xie Chuntao, a professor with the Party School of CPC Central Committee, respond- ing to new rules of some provinces concerning migrant workers’ children taking college entrance exams, on December 30, 2012, in Beijing

 “Ideas of morality are influenced by religious beliefs. In our survey, fewer than 13 percent of people had religious beliefs and most of them Chinese fencer Lei Sheng was rated one of the 10 best athletes of 2012 by Xinhua News were in the high-income group.” Agency. The 28-year-old beat Alaaeldin Wu Jianping, a professor with the China Institute of Industrial Relations, responding to a survey on the religious life of local people in Beijing. The study shows fewer Abouelkassem of Egypt 15-13 to win gold than four in every 100 people have a clear understanding of social morality in the men’s foil event at the 2012 London Olympics, grabbing the first ever such medal

 for the Chinese team. “Economic rebound is still weak as December Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data remains the same as during the previous month. Export  Best Actress conditions are still not good.” Zhang Liqun, an analyst with the Development Research Center of the State Council, in an interview in Beijing on January 1, 2013, warning that China’s economic situation is still less than optimal even though its PMI for the manufacturing sector stayed above 50 percent for three consecutive months

 “Someone wants to profit from the Diaoyu Islands issue, and bully people by flaunting powerful con- nections. All of it is futile.” Chinese star Sun Li won the best actress Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry, in a news briefing in award for her outstanding performance in Beijing on December 27, referring to the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for the TV series The Legend of Zhenhuan at the Fiscal Year 2013, which contains controversial sections related to the Diaoyu Islands and arms sales to Taiwan National TV Drama Awards Ceremony on December 31, 2012. It was the fourth such  award Sun won last year for starring in the “The European sovereign debt crisis shows us how program. The drama centers on the growth of important this balance is. The reforms we have Zhenhuan, played by Sun, from a simple girl to a resourceful imperial agreed to are beginning to take effect. But we still concubine. It has won high acclaim from need a lot of patience. The crisis is far from over.” audiences for its truthful and moving German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a taped address broadcasted on December representation of imperial life. 31, 2012, in Berlin, noting that the three-year-long crisis shows how important it is to strike a balance between prosperity and solidarity

10 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com MEDIA DIGESTTHIS WEEK

China’s Future in Foreign Eyes Oriental Outlook December 20, 2012 The five to 10 years following the 18th its strained relations with certain neighbors. National Congress of the Communist Party of Such consensus would mean confidence in China will be a critical juncture for China’s rise the future. and renewal. To become a stronger country, The Indian-American economist Arvind it needs to utilize wisdom and adopt diverse Subramanian said the world is paying close perspectives and rational attitudes. attention to see if China’s top decisionmakers Li Cheng, a senior researcher with the take the necessary measures to rebalance John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings the economy and accelerate development. Institution in the United States, said the most However, he believes, the temporary slow- salient feature among new Party leaders un- down in growth is necessary. The economist derlines basic-level experience and high ide- pointed out that, although many people do als. They have shown the courage to pursue not believe it, the yuan will become the first- reform and make breakthroughs. The biggest choice reserve currency in the next 10 to 15 challenge facing China concerns reaching years. Subramanian said it is imperative for national consensus on key issues such as China to further reform its financial field and the country’s slowed economic growth and state-owned companies.

School Bus Incidents shops and caused losses to owners. The more precondition. They need an orderly and sound Workers’ Daily prosperous an online business is, the more online space for fair competition. December 28, 2012 regulations need to be put in place. Apart from these youngsters, big portal In late December, four people died after a Recently, the Standing Committee of the websites and network operators have all ex- minibus carrying 15 kindergarten children National People’s Congress passed a legal pressed support for strengthening legislation drove into a pond in Guixi, south China’s Jiangxi decision on the protection of private online on online business. Province. The accident follows one in Zhengn- information. It targets the abuse of personal The legal decision comes at the very ing, northwest China’s Gansu Province, in information to ensure a safe online environ- moment it is demanded. It offers network November 2011, and one in Fengxian County ment for Internet users. operators legal support in protecting personal of east China’s Jiangsu Province in December Recent years have seen more college information. The obligations and rights of or- the same year. graduates start online businesses. In 2012, ganizations and individuals have been clearly Following the incidents, Zhengning and 68 percent of those operating on the Web expounded. Fengxian counties soon banned the opera- were born in the 1980s, with those born in the Both online shops and consumers expect tion of unlicensed school buses. As a result, 1990s also joining the trend. For these young safer online transactions. This decision is only children have been left without a means to businesspeople, it’s very important to win a start. To ensure long-term development and get to school. In Fengxian, parents have begun trust from consumers in the process of doing prosperity, we need more such legal regula- taking their children to school by tricycle. business and a safe Internet environment is a tions. In other parts, due to insufficient finances, unsafe school buses continue to run. Standardizing school bus operation is es- The Power of the Public sential, but in rural areas, this seems to be a hard task. The fact that parents have to take Lifeweek children to school themselves reveals just how December 31, 2012 terrible current bus services are. The problem Public strength was given full reign in 2012: On the one hand, indicates a serious shortage of financial input microblogs inspired and pushed it to voice opinions on social in rural education. and political issues; on the other, individual interests were rec- ognized after more than 30 years of rapid economic develop- Law on Online Business ment. Rationality and maturity have combined to push forward China Youth Daily and deepen national reform. January 3, 2013 Step-by-step investigations by netizens, followed by rel- Online shopping platforms like Taobao are evant government department response, constituted public anti-corruption efforts in 2012. Online anti-corruption moves very popular with consumers and quite enabled the public to secure social justice via informal means. lucrative to businesspeople in China. How- The Internet has proved a new channel of supervision. Public measures reflect both indigna- ever, some people are taking advantage of tion against corruption and distrust of traditional supervision systems. However, fighting the loopholes in the network to steal personal problem online is still far from adequate and necessitates strict laws. information. This practice has damaged online http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 11 12 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 13 COVER STORY NOW, WATCHM EN WATCHING WATCHES

14 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com NOW, WATCHM EN WATCHING Discipline authorities increasingly responsive to WATCHES netizen scrutiny of corrupt officials By Li Li he fate of Yang Dacai, former head the rising role of Chinese netizens in the coun- of the Work Safety Administration of try’s fight against corruption. northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, took an unexpected turn after he Online whistleblowing grinned inappropriately at the scene of a fatal accident. When Yang inspected a car Corrupt officials often fall from grace along the T same trajectory. After their wrongdoings were crash in which 36 people died on August 26, 2012, he was photographed wearing a broad publicized on the Internet, anti-corruption agen- smile while surveying the collision and listening cies stepped in and removed them from their to reports from investigators. posts pending criminal investigations. Angered by Yang’s apparent insensitivity, On October 9, an anonymous whistleblow- netizens resorted to online vigilante tactics, er posted records of 21 properties owned by Cai known in China as the “human flesh search en- Bin, an official in Panyu District in Guangzhou, gine,” and launched an all-out Internet assault capital of south China’s Province, on the previously unknown civil servant. along with photos of Cai’s undisclosed real es- Flesh searchers trawled the Internet for tate holdings. more embarrassing poses but instead found Later investigations showed that Cai and his photographs of Yang sporting a dazzling ar- family owned 22 properties in two districts of ray of luxury wristwatches. Watching watches Guangzhou, including a villa, a factory building, is a Chinese Internet pastime; one netizen, apartments and commercial properties. pseudonymously referred to as Huaguoshan Cai failed to disclose personal assets as Zongshuji, struck fear into the hearts of corrupt required by Party discipline. Under current officials in past years with his uncanny ability to circumstances, officials must disclose assets identify brands and models of timepieces based but are not obligated to publicize them. In his on government publicity photos. reports, Cai, 56, had twice told authorities that Yang’s claims that he bought each of his his family owned only two properties. five luxury watches with his own “legal income” Cai was suspected of receiving huge bribes fell upon deaf ears. Arguing that a civil servant when he served as deputy chief of the Panyu could not possibly afford such expensive watch- District Public Security Bureau and head of the es, Internet users continued to probe Yang’s district’s Urban Management Bureau. He had luxury wardrobe, also identifying what they been removed from his position, said Mei Heqing, claimed was an equally costly collection of belts, a senior official with the Guangzhou Municipal suits and glasses. Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, The online campaign prompted an of- at a press conference on October 22. ficial inquiry into Yang’s financial dealings. On One of the most talked about cases last September 21 last year, the Shaanxi Provincial year was the sacking of , a top Party Commission for Discipline Inspection of the official of Beibei District in southwest China’s Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Municipality, 63 hours after a sex Shaanxi Provincial Department of Supervision tape featuring Lei and a young woman explod- announced Yang’s dismissal from his position ed on the Internet in November. for serious violations of discipline and said that The gaze of the public eye has never been CFP further investigation was underway. as palpable as it is in the age of the microblog. Yang’s downfall is just another example of Professor Huang Zongliang at Peking University s s http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 15 told national broadcaster CCTV, “Every netizen ing number of people have spread first-hand microblog updated information about the in- can be a journalist responsible for exposing materials exposing officials’ misdeeds on their vestigation with four messages, to the approval wrongdoing. Anti-corruption agencies have microblogs with great alacrity and precision. of netizens. been acting faster to respond to public tip-offs, In response, anti-corruption agencies An anonymous official of the commission which is an encouraging trend.” around China have been opening official mi- told China Economic Weekly that investiga- The message from the top is just as clear. croblogs to receive tip-offs from the public tors received a plethora of detailed messages Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the 17th CPC about officials’ misdeeds. revealing Liang’s misconduct during the in- Central Committee, said in his report to the Last August, the official microblog of the vestigation. “Maybe the same whistleblower 18th CPC National Congress last November CPC discipline watchdog of Zhongshan City registered different accounts to hide his or her that the fight against corruption is a clear-cut in Guangdong received a message, saying identity and avoid revenge,” said the official, and long-term political commitment. that , a senior official with the who regarded the investigation into Liang’s Xi Jinping, who was elected general secre- city’s Bureau of Human Resources and Social case the speediest and easiest during his tary of the CPC Central Committee at the 18th Security, ordered a change to her son’s score in career due to the wealth of details, clues and CPC National Congress, said after his election the written test of the 2012 provincial civil ser- evidence provided by microbloggers. Liang that the Party must solve problems of “corrup- vice exam in order to make him qualify for the was sacked for abuse of power on September tion, being divorced from the people, going interview round. 6, 2012. through formalities and bureaucracy.” The CPC Zhongshan Municipal Commission A report released by China’s leading microb- for Discipline Inspection set up an investigation logging site Weibo.com said that it had verified Official channels team the day after they received the report. 11,450 microblog accounts run by police Amid a microblogging boom in China, a grow- Within one week, the commission’s official authorities, procuratorates and courts, as well LIANG ZHIWEI

OBSCURED OWNERSHIP: A community in Guangzhou in south China’s Guangdong Province is the site of one of the 22 properties not disclosed to discipline authorities by Cai Bin, an official ousted in 2012 amid corruption allegations

16 BEIJING REVIEW JANUARY 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com FILES

Liang Guoying

Yang Dacai Lei Zhengfu

HALL OF SHAME: Liang Guoying, formerly a senior human resources official in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, Lei Zhengfu, former Party chief of Beibei District in Chongqing Municipality and Yang Dacai, former head of the Work Safety Administration of Shaanxi Province, are among officials sacked thanks to efforts by Internet whistleblowers in 2012 as 6,100 accounts belonging to their individual and letters, and receive a speedier response,” Han Deyun, an NPC deputy and a lawyer staff, by the end of October 2012. Zhao said. from Chongqing Municipality, has handed over Geographically, the provinces with the the same legislative proposal seven times since largest numbers of these accounts are Henan, Legal guarantee 2006, calling for a law forcing civil servants to Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian and Zhejiang, mostly declare personal assets. located in the eastern part of the country. Ma Huaide, Vice President of China University Last July, the CPC Central Commission for According to the website of People’s Daily, of Political Science and Law in Beijing, said that Discipline Inspection replied that the legislation a leading Chinese newspaper, 45,030 Party and the prominence of microbloggers also high- on officials’ property declaration remains in government organizations and 25,054 Party lights inadequacies of traditional anti-corruption the research stage as public responses to pilot and government officials have opened ac- mechanisms. programs are being collected and case studies counts on another major microblogging site in “For example, there have been loopholes from other countries are being examined. The China, T.qq.com. in enforcing the law, and a lack of supervision commission also pledged to accelerate the pro- “The microblogs of Party and govern- over law enforcement institutions. Meanwhile, cess to meet actual needs. ment departments are most active in coastal even though we have set up a number of laws Dozens of local governments have also regions such as Zhejiang and Jiangsu, sym- to ensure clean governance, the regulations are run initiatives making officials’ wealth known to bolizing more advanced social progress. not complete,” Ma told CCTV. the public, but most efforts have ceased and Meanwhile, this trend is developing fast in Zhang Zhenliang, a long-time observer of vanished from public attention as officials are China’s central and northern areas, showing the development of government microblogs unwilling to participate. the increasing recognition from the public,” in China, said that many officials now avoid During a recent meeting with officials of Shan Dangang, a media monitoring expert wearing wristwatches or luxury suits at public the CPC Central Commission for Discipline at the People’s Daily website, told China occasions and allegedly forbid their relatives Inspection, Ma proposed three further laws to Economic Weekly. from revealing family wealth in their own mi- restrain power and make government affairs The microblog account of the Yunnan croblogs. more transparent. Provincial People’s Procuratorate on T.qq.com “Scrutiny over officials through microblog- “The message from the top is that in fur- has 230,791 followers, more than any of its ging should only be supplementary while the ther combating corruption, the CPC will put counterparts. Zhao Anjin, Publicity Department key of supervision should be preventing officials more emphasis on building systems to uproot chief of the procuratorate, told China Economic from lying about their wealth or not disclosing corruption, filling loopholes in existing laws and Weekly that although there were internal con- their assets,” said a microblog post regarding regulations and establishing a long-term strat- cerns that opening a microblog might invite Yang Dacai’s expulsion. egy, rather than relying on sporadic action,” Ma rumors to spread, the procuratorate’s leaders Officials’ property declaration has long been said. n decided to give it a go in an effort to increase ju- a major public concern in China. A law in this dicial transparency and build a tighter bond with regard was listed in the legislative agenda of the the public. National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top “In the future, microblog whistleblowing will legislature, as early as in 1994, but drafters cite become more common than via telephones “immature conditions” impede its progress. [email protected] http://www.bjreview.com JANUARY 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 17