Fight corruption by eradicating privilege

The Communist Party of China must clamp down on privileges for Party members, said an article in China Business News (excerpts below).

The new leadership of the CPC should take the lead in fighting against party members' privilege, a major contributing factor in negative images of the Party among some people.

Chinese society is deeply shaped by the cultures of hierarchy and privilege. There is not sufficient supervision of senior officials and this sets a bad example for lower-ranked officials and society in general. Civil servants and Party members seems to be protected by their identities even when they break the law.

The abuse of their position by some senior officials, like Liu Zhijun, former railway minister, comes at a high cost for the nation.

The corruption of some senior officials and civil servants’ abuse of powers shows that their audacity is based on a misguided sense of superiority.

Clamping down on the abuse of power and privilege will not be easy, in fact it is a daunting task. However, failure to do so will result in reforms failing and the only lucrative business will be for corrupt officials.