Chinese communist official warns cadres on morals

BEIJING – Chinese communist cadres are being told to scorn prostitutes and avoid ‘vulgar’ places of entertainment, in the latest bid to boost decaying morality and rein in corruption.

Li Yuanchao, head of the organisation department that controls major personnel appointments, warned that officials could receive black marks in their behavioural assessments for visiting hostess bars, the state-run China News Service said.Officials must avoid such temptations, since they are often a gateway to corruption and abuse of power and harm the image of the party and its cadres, Li said. He was quoted as issuing the warnings in recent speeches at the opening of fall classes at the party’s official training academies.Li’s remarks follow similar pronouncements by party leaders linking clean morals to graft, including one that claimed that 95 per cent of corrupt officials had mistresses.’Party cadres must refuse to allow themselves to be contaminated by that which is impure. Integrity and cleanliness cannot be separated,’ Li said.’Of leading cadres who fall into the abyss of corruption, the majority start with an inability to remain pure,’ Li said.Cadres should keep a wary eye on businessmen seeking to corrupt them, develop healthy outside interests, and cultivate friendships with ordinary folks and those of high moral and academic standing, Li said.Citing a notorious example, Li said Lai Changxing, the kingpin in China’s biggest ever smuggling scandal, had carefully studied the interests and habits of local officials in order to tempt and corrupt them.Among other accusations, Lai is alleged to have run the famed ‘Red Mansion’ in which he plied officials, including a deputy mayor in the port of Xiamen and the local customs chief, with liquor and prostitutes.The 75 million-member party has struggled to control widespread practices of embezzlement, taking kickbacks, and influence peddling that have degraded public faith and sometimes led to violent protest.Yet, it has proceeded haltingly toward enacting strong measures. Leaders meeting last month said they wanted to force top cadres to declare homes, investments, and their family member’s jobs and incomes, but reached no consensus on how to do that. – Nampa-AP