Between August and October this year, China witnessed the death
by suicide of three junior government officials. Their deaths came
as China intensified its campaign against corruption. Why did these
officials kill themselves? Shao Daosheng, a researcher with the
Sociology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Science gave
this insight to the Shanghai-based Xinmin Weekly.
Reporter: As a researcher of many years
standing into China's war on corruption, you will be well aware of
the recent phenomenon of government officials taking their own
lives while being investigated for corruption. Would you like to
comment?
Shao: Yes. The three officials whose deaths
have been attracting attention were all top-ranking local figures.
They comprised a party chief together with the heads of a local tax
bureau and a bank. They held the sorts of positions that have been
linked with a high incidence of corruption. Since they killed
themselves once they were made aware that they were under
investigation, it is not possible to be sure at this time if they
were corrupt or not and it would not be appropriate to brand them
as corrupt.
However the small turnouts at their funerals might well be
telling. Only their personal friends and relatives were there, not
a single representative from their units came to pay their
respects.
In my opinion the suicides of these top local officials must be
seen in a different light to those of ordinary citizens. I am
afraid that their deaths must be viewed against a background of
serious corruption in society.
If the Party does not maintain its emphasis on tackling
corruption, if society does not take stronger measures to protect
itself against corrupt officials and if the war on corruption
continues to net only the small fish, will we see more officials
under investigation take their own lives?
Perhaps not. Scrutiny by the anti-corruption authorities may not
necessarily strike fear into the hearts of wrongdoers. Any official
who believes he or she would soon be off the hook thanks to a
network of connections would be most unlikely to contemplate
suicide.
It should also be pointed out that these particular officials
who lost their lives were in fact extraordinarily able people. They
had a wealth of experience coupled with flexibility and outstanding
skills in finding their way through the bureaucratic maze.
Take the Party secretary for example. Local people are in
agreement about his abilities. He spoke well and could do so for
hours without the need to refer to notes. He had an excellent
memory for facts and figures. Here was a man of ideas with a
powerful intellect. He had a strong personality and exercised
strict discipline among his staff. All in all he was regarded as
the most capable Party Secretary ever in that particular
locale.
What could drive such a talented individual to take his own
life? Forced into a corner? Nowhere to go? One might speculate that
he knew that this time there could be no escape no matter how hard
he tried and that punishment was inevitable owing to the magnitude
of his crime.
As for the death of the local tax bureau head in Henan Province,
I just cannot accept the story that's going around that he killed
himself because of gossip. Would you really believe that? What on
earth then is the truth? It is waiting to be dug out by further
investigation.
If we look at the phenomenon from a different perspective, it
does show that China's war on corruption is having an impact. It is
becoming more and more effective and it is achieving results.
Reporter: I do understand what you mean. Nobody
today could deny the fact that the Chinese Communist Party is
paying more and more attention to the war on corruption. After the
16th National Congress of the CPC, the Party stepped up its attack
on corruption among senior officials.
Some senior officials came under the spotlight of investigation
and faced with such pressure apparently took their own lives to
avoid punishment.
Yet, many people must be wondering if the suicides of these
officials might be better understood in terms of a desire to
protect family, friends or professional associates. What do you
think?
Shao: It certainly would be reasonable to take
that point of view. Why? Well it would be in keeping with the
cultural traditions of the Chinese people. In addition it tallies
with what has been coming to light recently.
It is very much in the Chinese traditions to value the family
most highly. Irrespective of the situation the family always comes
first. Concern for family welfare can extend beyond the children to
the grandchildren.
Corrupt officials may well be thrifty individuals with simple
daily lives at odds with the thousands or even millions stashed
away in the bank for their children and contingency plans already
in place to kill themselves should their activities be exposed. The
concept is that their deaths would atone for everything leaving the
money safe as a final family legacy for the wives and children they
leave behind. This particular motive cannot be arbitrarily
discounted in any corruption investigation.
These days, corruption is becoming a more and more complicated
affair. One feature that stands out today is organized corruption.
There is a new tendency for corrupt officials to form themselves
into an unholy alliance bound by life-and-death rules. Some take an
oath similar to what might be expected in the dark world of the
secret society. The vow is to absorb all the blame and not expose
the others if discovered.
The individual accepts the punishment in the expectation that
the others will take care of his family. But if he betrays his
co-conspirators not only can he expect retribution to fall on his
own shoulders but he will also know that he is putting his family
at risk.
Therefore it is my view that these officials were not driven to
take their own lives out of a sense of remorse for a life steeped
in iniquity. Nor were they overcome by regret at letting down the
Party, the people and society. On the contrary their supreme
sacrifice was to enable their families to reap the benefits of the
ill-gotten gains they had accumulated and to protect the interests
of their co-conspirators. Their deaths can be seen as acts of
defiance in the face of the war on corruption.
Reporter: So should something be done to
prevent things like this happening again? Do you have any
suggestions?
Shao: You're right something needs to be
done.
The departments involved in tackling corruption must be
constantly on the alert as they encounter new challenges. Let us
consider how best to tackle the issues.
Firstly, investigations should be conducted discretely. Today's
networks of contacts cast their webs wider than in the past and it
is becoming a problem to avoid alerting those under
investigation.
Secondly, investigations should proceed at a faster pace. When
credible evidence is found any officials falling under suspicion
should be placed under careful surveillance immediately.
Thirdly, once suspects have been taken into custody they should
be closely supervised with counter-suicide measures in place.
Last but not least, the suicide of a suspect should not signal
the end of the investigation. On the contrary this should continue
until all the details are brought to light especially when the
family is in possession of huge sums of suspect money. Once the
investigations have discovered the truth of the case, corruptly
obtained funds should be returned.
(China.org.cn translated by Zheng Guihong, November 17,
2003)