24 October 2014
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has expelled six senior officials from the party. These officials have been investigated for graft. Those expelled are:
Yang Jinshan, the former military commander of the Tibet region,
Li Dongsheng, the former vice minister of public security,
Jiang Jiemin, the former head of the state asset regulator,
Wang Yongchun, the former vice general manager of China National Petroleum Corporation,
Li Chuncheng, the former Sichuan deputy party boss,
Wan Qingliang, the former Guangzhou Party leader
Most of the above are said to be close allies of fallen former security Chief Zhou Yongkang. There was no mention of Mr Zhou. He was quietly dismissed earlier.
The decision to expel the above officials was taken at a summit of the 360 member Party Central Committee which completed its 4 day summit yesterday (23 October 2014). President Xi Jinping presided over the meeting.
The Committee also decided to set up a supervisory body that will intervene in court cases and scrutinize court records to make sure there is no abuse.
Until recently only USA implemented the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Now many other countries are enforcing laws similar to the FCPA. United Kingdom has passed UK Bribery Act (UKBA).China continues to be the main target of FCPA. Some 106 companies have publically admitted that they are under investigation for potential FCPA violations. This is because China has a gift giving culture. It is not practical to distinguish between a gift and a bribe.
Currently gifts valued at more the RMB 200 (US$ 32) will have to be handed over to the government within one month of receiving the gift. National People’s Congress opening on 27 October 2014 will change the gift rules to make it difficult to pay bribe under the guise of a gift. New laws will provide for punishment to all government officials who accept gifts or money exceeding a certain amount without a need to establish misconduct.
Usually when an official comes under suspicion he will send his family overseas, and then transfer his money and finally he would flee to that country. Most favored destinations are Australia, USA and Canada. This is because it is easier to get residency and transfer money in these countries. Furthermore these countries do not have bilateral extradition treaty with China. This year US and China have agreed on sharing financial information on individuals under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. China is seeking cooperation from other countries to have corrupt officials extradited.
