Chinese Blogger Becomes Celebrity Exposing Corruption 143
hackingbear writes "The New York Times reports the story of a Chinese blogger named Zhu Ruifeng who has become an overnight celebrity in China. He posted a secretly recorded video of an 18-year-old woman having sex with a 57-year-old official from the southwestern municipality of Chongqing. The official, along with 10 others, lost their jobs and are now under investigation. Mr. Zhu says ordinary citizens have come to rely on the Internet for retribution, even if it often amounts to mob justice. 'We used to say that when you have a problem, go to the police,' he said. 'Now we say when you have a problem, go to the netizens.' He has become a litmus test of how committed China's new leaders are in their battle against corruption — and whether they can tolerate populist crusaders like Mr. Zhu."
Re:I'm sort of confused (Score:4, Informative)
From TFA:
The compromising images of Lei Zhengfu, the Chongqing official caught having sex with the 18-year-old, have been an anti-graft jackpot for Mr. Zhu: 11 officials have resigned or been fired for their role in what was a honey trap organized by business executives seeking to blackmail powerful bureaucrats to win government contracts. The scheme ultimately failed, but the tapes ended up in the hands of the Chongqing police. After investigators failed to act, Mr. Zhu says, a disgruntled person inside the department sent the evidence his way.
Re:Link (Score:2, Informative)
Re:He's not a hero, (Score:5, Informative)
The compromising images of Lei Zhengfu, the Chongqing official caught having sex with the 18-year-old, have been an anti-graft jackpot for Mr. Zhu: 11 officials have resigned or been fired for their role in what was a honey trap organized by business executives seeking to blackmail powerful bureaucrats to win government contracts. The scheme ultimately failed, but the tapes ended up in the hands of the Chongqing police. After investigators failed to act, Mr. Zhu says, a disgruntled person inside the department sent the evidence his way.
So, let's count:
1. successful bribery - (otherwise why 11 resignations/sacking after the tapes containing the sex scene ended at the Chongqing police?)
2. blackmail attempt (even if the blackmail scheme failed)
3. police failing to act
To my count, that's at least 3 cases I'd classify as corruption
Re:Good about the angle on this one (Score:4, Informative)
The compromising images of Lei Zhengfu, the Chongqing official caught having sex with the 18-year-old, have been an anti-graft jackpot for Mr. Zhu: 11 officials have resigned or been fired for their role in what was a honey trap organized by business executives seeking to blackmail powerful bureaucrats to win government contracts. The scheme ultimately failed, but the tapes ended up in the hands of the Chongqing police. After investigators failed to act, Mr. Zhu says, a disgruntled person inside the department sent the evidence his way.
Re:But how long will this last? (Score:5, Informative)
The newly minted Standing Committee of the Politburu (the 9 folks who rule China) have made it clear that corruption is a major issue.
When Xi Jinping spoke out about corruption, in the very next breath he emphasized that "stability" was more important. That is understood by Chinese people to mean nothing much will be done. In the previous administration, many people looked at the premier, Wei Jiabao [wikipedia.org], as a champion of integrity, and it was a big shock to a lot of Chinese when the NY Times exposed his billions in overseas accounts. Xi Jinping's response to Wei Jiabao's corruption is not to hold him accountable, but rather to try to block the Chinese people from reading the NY times. The culture of corruption and impunity goes all the way to the top.
Most "anti-corruption" drives in China are used to scapegoat political enemies, and even execute a few people (kill the chicken to scare the monkey). But there is rarely any reform to the system that made the corruption possible. For instance, when thousands of people died in the Sichuan Earthquake [wikipedia.org] because building inspectors had been bribed, a few people were shot. But the real solution (making building inspection reports into public records freely accessible to anyone with a browser) did not happen.
Re:But how long will this last? (Score:5, Informative)
Corruption, when done well, is almost impossible to detect.
Regulation, when done well, is almost impossible to corrupt. If you want to start a business in China, you will have to pay a bribe. I have started several business in the USA, and there is no where in the system for a bribe. The law says that the county clerk must issue the license. They have no discretion. When I lived in Shanghai, I had to pay a bribe so my kids could attend school. The rules are murky and unwritten, so the school staff has huge discretion of who can attend. In America the rules for admission are written down, clear, and publicly available. The system in China is designed to be corruptible, while the American system is designed to prevent it.
In America, nearly all of my interaction with local, state and federal government is through websites. It is difficult to get an under-the-table bribe through a website. When I have to deal face-to-face, such as at the DMV, it is at a public window in full view of other people. When I have had to deal with government officials in China, they often will lead applicants one at a time into private offices, out of view of the public. The corruption is pervasive and systematic, and their procedures are designed to facilitate it.
Re:But how long will this last? (Score:5, Informative)
You don't need to pay bribes in China.
I lived in China for several years. You don't have to pay bribes if you don't want anything from the government. But if you want to send your kids to a public school, and their paternal grandfather didn't live in the district in 1949, then you pay a bribe. If you have a business that requires any kind of license (and they all do), then you either pay a bribe to get the license, or you pay a bribe to the cop on the corner to ignore the fact that you don't have one. A foreigner visiting China will not normally have to pay any bribes, but that is because they don't have the kinds of interactions with the government that require bribes, and also because foreigners are treated differently. Most Chinese people don't consider their country to be corrupt either. They refer to the bribes as "guanxi", or "relationship building", and to them it is so normal that they just accept it as the way it is, and the way it is supposed to be.