BEIJING:
Premier Wen Jiabao warned on Monday the
biggest danger facing China's Communist Party was corruption, as it struggles
to contain the biggest political scandal to hit the country in years.
In a
speech published in the top Communist Party periodical "Qiushi," Wen
pledged to use his last year in power to attack rampant corruption in the
ruling party and curb the unbridled powers of top leaders.
Wen's
comments come after charismatic leader Bo Xilai was sacked as head of Chongqing
city and dismissed from the powerful Politburo while his wife was named a
suspect in the alleged murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.
The
revelations, most announced last week, have shocked the nation and are seen as
the biggest political scandal to strike China in years.
"We
must deeply recognise that the biggest danger facing the ruling party is
corruption," Wen said in the speech that was read at an anti-graft cabinet
meeting on March 26 but only published Monday.
"If
this problem is not resolved well, then the nature of political power can
change and 'those who hold political power may perish'."
The
speech played prominently in China's tightly-controlled media and mirrored
numerous editorials that have urged the public to rally behind the party
following the news of Bo's suspension from the Politburo and the investigation
into his wife Gu Kailai for murder.
Xinhua
news agency said last week Gu had been on good terms with Heywood, but fell out
over economic interests, leading to the alleged November 15 murder.
The
ruling party -- apparently nervous that the repercussions of the case will
shatter its carefully crafted appearance of unity -- has tried to put a
positive spin on the scandal.
"Recently,
the central government decided to start an investigation into serious
disciplinary violations by Comrade Bo Xilai," the Chongqing Daily said in
a Monday commentary.
"This
is a great fortune for the party, for the country and for Chongqing, and deeply
suits the party's wishes and the people's wishes."
Meanwhile,
in an effort to quell widespread rumours circulating about the case,
authorities have shut down dozens of websites, deleted hundreds of thousands of
microblog posts and even detained people for spreading false information.
But
China's weibos - hugely popular microblogs similar to Twitter - have still
buzzed with speculation about a scandal worthy of a Hollywood thriller.
Until
his dismissal as Chongqing head in mid-March, Bo - a charismatic politician and
a rising star of the party - had been touted to access the highest echelons of
power later this year.
The
scandal burst into the open in February when Bo's right-hand man Wang Lijun
fled in apparent panic to a US consulate, reportedly demanded asylum and handed
over large amounts of information about his former boss.
The
murder case has reportedly led to a detailed investigation into Bo and his
family, including their financial dealings.
"The
numbers of leaders and officials involved in graft remain prominent, the cases
are big, sometimes they are linked to nests of corruption, the sums involved
are huge and their influence (on society) is vile," Wen said in his
speech.
"One
important reasons why these problems are not fundamentally and effectively
resolved is because of the over-concentration of powers of some departments
-
AFP/de
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment