New books to educate cadres on values are useless without rule of law and democracy, critics say
Staff Reporter 19 June 2012
Beijing authorities yesterday published a collection of books on moral values as part of a new campaign to rein in growing corruption among Communist Party cadres.
However, analysts say that is unlikely to work in the absence of the rule of law and the freedom for citizens to criticise the government.
The four-volume set, entitled The Study of Officials’ Moral Integrity in Ancient and Contemporary China, will be used as educational material for party cadres, the state-run Beijing Daily said.
Exhibitions and lectures on the topic would be held to reinforce the message, the paper said.
The books are the result of a two-year research project by the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences that was commissioned by the disciplinary and propaganda arms of the Beijing Communist Party Committee.
They cite ancient and modern case studies, proverbs, and Confucian and Taoist philosophies to define what makes an official corrupt or virtuous, and what moral standards officials should uphold.
For instance, officials should uphold six aspects of moral values: the desire to serve ordinary people; loyalty; pragmatism; fairness; an uncorrupted character; and self-discipline.
“Those who act according to their conscience are good officials, while those who act against their conscience are bad officials,” Beijing Daily cited the books as saying.
“Researchers believe that what characterises bad officials is excessive greed, [the tendency] to exploit ordinary people and brutal tyranny.”
However, Professor Hu Xingdou, a political commentator at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said moral values could only serve as guidelines. To succeed in tackling corruption, Beijing must empower the rule of law and allow the public the freedom to criticise the government, Hu said.
“We have had countless education campaigns on social morals before, but the situation just gets worse all the time,” Hu said. “Without the rule of law and democracy, it’s all empty talk.”
Historian Zhang Lifan , formerly with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the crux of the problem was the concentration of powers under the sole rule of the Communist Party.
“They used to extol Marxism - that didn’t work, so they extolled Confucianism, but that didn’t work either,” Zhang said. “Most officials say one thing and do another … so whatever they are saying now, it’s useless.
“So long as they don’t solve the problem of the concentration of power, you can’t even talk about anti-corruption. You need the rule of law and the supervision by the people.”
Many postings on the internet also ridiculed the new campaign.
“How tragic! 5,000 years of Chinese history and we’re still talking about ruling by morals,” said a posting on the popular Sina microblog.
“You need laws and regulations to rein in officials’ behaviour - what is the use of extolling moral standards?” asked another.
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Morality campaign ‘doomed to fail’
New books to educate cadres on values are useless without rule of law and democracy, critics say
Staff Reporter
19 June 2012
Beijing authorities yesterday published a collection of books on moral values as part of a new campaign to rein in growing corruption among Communist Party cadres.
However, analysts say that is unlikely to work in the absence of the rule of law and the freedom for citizens to criticise the government.
The four-volume set, entitled The Study of Officials’ Moral Integrity in Ancient and Contemporary China, will be used as educational material for party cadres, the state-run Beijing Daily said.
Exhibitions and lectures on the topic would be held to reinforce the message, the paper said.
The books are the result of a two-year research project by the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences that was commissioned by the disciplinary and propaganda arms of the Beijing Communist Party Committee.
They cite ancient and modern case studies, proverbs, and Confucian and Taoist philosophies to define what makes an official corrupt or virtuous, and what moral standards officials should uphold.
For instance, officials should uphold six aspects of moral values: the desire to serve ordinary people; loyalty; pragmatism; fairness; an uncorrupted character; and self-discipline.
“Those who act according to their conscience are good officials, while those who act against their conscience are bad officials,” Beijing Daily cited the books as saying.
“Researchers believe that what characterises bad officials is excessive greed, [the tendency] to exploit ordinary people and brutal tyranny.”
However, Professor Hu Xingdou, a political commentator at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said moral values could only serve as guidelines. To succeed in tackling corruption, Beijing must empower the rule of law and allow the public the freedom to criticise the government, Hu said.
“We have had countless education campaigns on social morals before, but the situation just gets worse all the time,” Hu said. “Without the rule of law and democracy, it’s all empty talk.”
Historian Zhang Lifan , formerly with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the crux of the problem was the concentration of powers under the sole rule of the Communist Party.
“They used to extol Marxism - that didn’t work, so they extolled Confucianism, but that didn’t work either,” Zhang said. “Most officials say one thing and do another … so whatever they are saying now, it’s useless.
“So long as they don’t solve the problem of the concentration of power, you can’t even talk about anti-corruption. You need the rule of law and the supervision by the people.”
Many postings on the internet also ridiculed the new campaign.
“How tragic! 5,000 years of Chinese history and we’re still talking about ruling by morals,” said a posting on the popular Sina microblog.
“You need laws and regulations to rein in officials’ behaviour - what is the use of extolling moral standards?” asked another.
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