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Punishing Corrupt Officials in China*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2015

Lin Zhu
Lin Zhu*
Affiliation:
Lin Zhu is assistant professor at the School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou. Email: zhulin26@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
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Abstract

China presents a mixed picture in terms of its anti-corruption efforts. On the one hand, rampant corruption remains a huge challenge for the party-state because it not only results in the loss of state assets but also damages the legitimacy of the regime. On the other hand, China's record of curbing corruption is not particularly worse than other comparable countries. This paper explains the reasons behind this mixed picture by focusing on the anti-corruption strategy employed by the central Party authorities. Effective anti-corruption measures are determined by the high probability of detecting corrupt agents and the meting out of effective and warranted punishment. In China, the central government is unable or unwilling to investigate a large number of officials, especially high-ranking officials. However, at the same time, it must impose severe punishment on convicted high-ranking officials. Although this mode of selective discipline compromises the credibility of the state in terms of anti-corruption efficacy, it also creates uncertainty for corrupt agents because corrupt officials are not guaranteed exemption.

摘要

中国在打击腐败上呈现出两面性。一方面, 腐败仍然是党和国家面临的严重挑战, 这不仅是因为腐败导致国家资产的流失, 更是由于其对政权合法性的腐蚀。另一方面, 相比较其他一些国家, 中国的腐败问题并没有显得极其严重。本研究试图通过考察中央惩治腐败的策略以解释上述问题。反腐败的有效性取决于惩治腐败的确定性和予以相应的惩罚。在中国, 中央政府无法也不愿意对大多数的官员, 特别是高级官员, 进行调查, 而是选择对已经认罪的高级官员予以严厉的惩罚。尽管这一选择性的惩戒策略损害了国家在反腐问题上的威信, 但这仍意味着腐败官员面临不确定性, 即使高级官员也并不必然逃脱惩罚。

Keywords

Chinadiscipliningcorruptionofficialspunishment中国惩治腐败官员严厉性
Type
Articles
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 223 , September 2015 , pp. 595 - 617
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Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2015 

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Footnotes

*

Research for this article was supported with funding provided by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, the National Social Science Fund of China (funding grant 13&ZD011), and the “985 Project” at Sun Yat-sen University. The author gratefully acknowledges the guidance and helpful suggestions of Yongshun Cai and the anonymous reviewers. The author is responsible for any remaining errors.

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