CHINESE STATE NEWSPAPER: Corruption Is Here To Stay And The Public Should Get Used To It

http://www.businessinsider.com/political-bribery-part-of-china-culture-away-2012-5

Party-owned, conservative, nationalist newspaper the Global Times ran a rather incendiary editorial this week arguing that corruption is so systemic in China it isn't going anywhere fast, even with all the recent corruption crackdowns. They say the rules and salaries for government officials essentially make it impossible for them to earn a living without engaging in some form of corruption.

Because while the points raised are good explanations for some of the root causes of corruption, they ignore many of the structural issues that contribute to the rampant levels of corruption in China. Here are just a few that we would add (and there are more than just these):

Lack of free press makes supervision of public officials almost impossible and dangerous for reporters who are often vulnerable to the politicians they might be reporting on

Lack of free courts make effective, fair prosecution also impossible

Corruption crackdowns generally have more to do with one political faction purging or attacking another than with actually fighting corruption

Because of the prevalence of corruption, now, many party positions are no longer sought after for ideological reasons but rather because they are viewed as critical to financial and personal success - i.e. many people only enter Chinese politics now to be corrupt

Which happens to be a fair point. The system in China does in fact make it almost impossible for Chinese politicians to make an honest living. Among the valid points raised in the editorial:

Public opinion doesn't permit "high salaries" for government officials - and in the case of local leaders these salaries are often not enough to provide for basic living expenses

Technically government officials are prohibited from entering the private sector (or utilizing their social networks for financial gain) after they are done with their government jobs

Public opinion is strongly against those who are already wealthy taking an active role in politics