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Must protect informants

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-18 07:45

Tip offs from the general public have played an important role in cracking countless corruption cases.

How to protect informants from being persecuted by those they blow the whistle on is essential for inspiring more to participate in the good fight.

The work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate delivered to the National People's Congress session early this month showed that the number of corruption cases cracked and the number of people implicated in 2008 have both increased compared to the previous year.

The fight against corruption is obviously an uphill battle.

The role whistle blowers play in the fight can never be underestimated.

The serious corruption charges filed against the former director of the State Food and Drug Administration along with a number of his subordinates owed to an initial tip off.

The former director was eventually executed for taking bribes. In another case, involving a top provincial leader's secretary who was finally executed for economic crimes, information from a tipster also made the difference.

Yet, now that 1,200 informants are being harmed in retribution each year, we can hardly be confident that more will dedicate themselves to the honest fight.

A primary teacher in Jiangsu Province spent eight years alerting higher authorities to the abuse of power and corruption by his leader from 1995 to 2002.

He suffered a great deal for his moral crusade after his superior expelled him from school in retaliation.

When his wife was also fired because of his action, he was then forced to beg for food from villagers.

Fortunately, when they learned what had happened to him, they provided him with food and a place to live.

Finally, the leader was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and his victim was awarded 15,000 yuan for his contribution to the fight against corruption.

It is high time that a mechanism is established to protect those who help expose corrupt elements.

Such a system in Hong Kong has proved to be quite successful in inspiring more and more people to assist investigations.

As much as 97 percent of corruption cases are investigated thanks to tip offs in Hong Kong but very few informants are persecuted or harassed in retaliation.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate work report in 2000 revealed that public sources had contributed to 70 percent of corruption cases that were successfully prosecuted.

But the number of clues has been on the decrease in recent years as informants have become intimidated by the growing violence against them.

If the successful battle against corruption is vital to the fate of the ruling Party and future of this country, the effective protection of informants is just as crucial.

They make such a difference to the delivery of justice.

(China Daily 03/18/2009 page8)