Corruption, dereliction of duty behind official image crisis

BEIJING - Corruption and dereliction of duty are the two biggest reasons for hatred of government officials in China, according to a report released on Monday by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The report, based on a 2013 study, listed five major factors that damage officials' image -- corruption, dereliction of duty, sex scandals, falsification and spreading rumors, and violence including during enforcement of laws.

Among the over 1,400 people surveyed in different parts of the country, 30.7 percent voted for corruption as the most hateful problem, and 24.8 percent voted for dereliction of duty. Falsification, sex scandals and violence received 7.4, 16.6 and 10.5 percent of the vote respectively.

Public perception of officials is at crisis point, as the report shows that among all the officials exposed for violations last year, 78 percent should bear the bulk of responsibility, while offences by the other 22 percent were mainly the result of uncontrollable reasons such as natural disasters.

Tang Jun, director of the crisis management center at Renmin University of China and author of the report, said there are an increasing number of incidents that damage officials' image and the severity of such problems has been growing.

However, he also noted that officials violating laws and regulations are a minority, and that the central government has been ever more determined in investigating and punishing these guilty parties.