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Time for transparency

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-09 08:09

Disclosure of incomes and assets by government officials has been a hot topic for months. And public expectation has never run so high. However, the fervent anticipation would be betrayed if no concrete measures are announced and adopted in the immediate future.

There is now little debate over the necessity and urgency of such a reporting system. It has proved to be an effective mechanism to fight corruption in many countries, and that should be no exception for China, where combating serious official corruption has been a top concern both for the government and the public. Polls have repeatedly showed overwhelming public support for such a disclosure system.

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This is a matter that should reflect the will of the people and be decided by the people, instead of just officials and heads of State-owned companies - the ones required to release their financial information, such as income, savings, real estate and other assets.

With all eyes on the issue, this has become a matter of political credibility. Any attempt to put off dealing with the issue would not only fail to meet the huge public expectation, but also compromise our mission to fight corruption and, at the same time, send a wrong message to corrupt officials still at large.

No one expects the work to be an easy one. However, this is a job that needs to be done, and there is no alternative to it if we want clean and efficient government, and a fair, just and harmonious society.

Delay in dealing with the issue will only create more obstacles. To show our political resolve, government officials should take the lead in reporting their income and assets. A detailed three- or five-year plan should be drafted to dispel rising public skepticism on the issue.

Public pressure is likely to build up further as relevant events take place. Next week, a workshop on applying APEC anti-corruption principles and ways of preventing conflicts of interest will be held in Beijing.

Reports from Russia show that President Dmitry Medvedev has not only signed laws requiring government officials and heads of state corporations to report their incomes and assets every year, but that he and other top officials have released their financial information a few months ago. Furthermore, Medvedev has just endorsed the proposal for creating a department to examine the truthfulness and completeness of those reports.

All these should help reinforce our resolve to push forward the income and asset disclosure work.

(China Daily 10/09/2009 page8)