'Flies' as harmful as 'tigers' to the nation

The crackdown on corruption and the abuse of power by lower level and junior officials who grab the interests of rural villagers or urban residents will be intensified, as part of the deepening of the anti-graft fight in 2015.

Uncovering high-level corrupt officials, or "tigers", such as Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, and dozens of ranking officials above the level of vice-minister, is encouraging. Yet, there is still a long way to go in clearing up all the lower level corrupt elements known as "flies" before clean and honest governance can be established.

These "flies" are great in number and the harm they have been doing to both the country and the ruling Party is no less than the "tigers". The "flies" often have appetites as big as the "tigers", and they will grab every opportunity they can to transfer public money into their own pockets.

An official in charge of civil affairs used 367 account books to embezzle more than 500,000 yuan ($81,582) from the minimum living stipends for substitute residents. And an official just in charge of a water works in North China's Hebei province accumulated more than 1 billion yuan in cash by refusing to supply water to work units unless his palms were greased.

Officials such as these are the ones who should materialize the policy of the central authorities. They are the ones who should make sure people benefit from the central government policies as intended. They are the ones whose professional competence and working style are the yardstick used by residents to judge the governing capability of the ruling Party.

It is therefore their malpractice that has compromised the policies of the central authorities and tarnished the image of the Party. It is their rampant abuse of power that has estranged the ruling Party and the government from the public.

In the long run, if there are many such incompetent and corrupt officials at the local levels, they will undermine the very foundation of both the ruling Party and government the same way termites erode the foundations of a structure unless they are thoroughly eradicated. Therefore it is imperative the Party and the government rid themselves of these "flies".

In addition, governing transparency and tight supervision must be established to clear the soil in which "flies" fester.