Under garb of corruption tackling, CCP asks party cadres to snoop on their own family members
Aug 14, 2022
Beijing [China], August 14 : Under the garb of tackling corruption, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is strictly controlling the lives of its party cadres as it orders them to snitch about their own family members and report their certain commercial activities and if the cadres refuse to follow the new orders, they are barred from promotions.
As CCP asks its party cadres to snoop about their own family members, by doing so, the party is actually holding cadres responsible for family members' activities, reported Portal Plus.
This is a clear violation of human rights as the party is determined to see what type of commercial activities can be pursued by the spouses and children of leading cadres of the Chinese Communist Party.
The clutches are tightening so much so that there is an entire department for the purpose, and it is supervised by the General Office of the Central Committee, which periodically issues orders that are officially known as the Regulation on the Management of the Commercial Activities of Leading Cadres' Spouses, Children and the Children's Spouses.
China called this latest order which came this June a "long-standing principal-agent problem". It is about how "officials enrich themselves by leveraging their official positions, thus eroding the state's legitimacy and the party organization's effectiveness," as per the media portal.
Chinese Communist Party is courting this regulation by saying that it is an "approach to tackling corruption under Xi Jinping, which is based on stricter control of the Party's agents and expanding the remit of the Party's disciplinary organs".
This new order prohibits certain commercial activities by the family members of leading cadres, such as "running a private equity fund or working as a paid go-between between officials and those wishing to influence policy".
This is how the party explains the policy-- "Strengthening the management of the commercial activities of leading cadres' spouses, children and the children's spouses is an important measure for exercising full and strict governance over the Party and ensuring cadres' strict management and supervision. The Regulation implements the Party's organizational line for the new era and summarizes the [Party's] practical experience. It sets clear rules on applicable persons and circumstances, work measures, disciplinary requirements, etc., for managing the commercial activities of leading cadres' spouses, children and the children's spouses. Moreover, the Regulation is significant for standardizing and restricting the exercise of power, preventing integrity risks [for the Party] at the source, and facilitating the building of family [moral] tradition and conduct."
The rule applies to families of cadres "at the department-bureau level or equivalent, and above, in the party and government organs, mass organizations, enterprises and public institutions".
As per the regulation, the commercial activities which are prohibited by the family members of party cadres are-- "investing in or starting a company, taking on a senior position in a private or foreign-funded company, investing in or running a private equity fund, and engaging in paid social intermediation or legal services, etc."
Secondly, the snooping should be "truthful in their annual reporting of personal matters [as required under the Regulation on Reporting Personal Matters By Leading Cadres issued by the General Offices of the Central Committee and the State Council in April 2017]".
The reports of leading cadres "shall be randomly checked and verified," as per the media portal.
If the commercial activities are found to violate the prohibitions, "the [relevant] leading cadres will be ordered to explain, and their spouses, children and the children's spouses shall cease these commercial activities, or the leading cadres themselves shall withdraw from their current positions and accept reassignment of their posts".
The involved cadres shall be given "appropriate treatment and punishment" according to the circumstances. The Regulation is very specific about the circumstances under which errant cadres will face disciplinary action.