China's Ministry of Justice is to launch an extensive
investigation of the employment of government cadres' spouses and
children this year in an effort to curb nepotism.
Government officials in leading posts will be ordered to report
and register jobs of their spouses and children, and any unfairly
preferential job arrangements shall be corrected immediately, the
ministry announced on Monday.
The ministry will also intensify supervision so as to prevent
cadres' families and relatives from being offered special favors in
jobs that benefit them illegally.
Last August, the General Office of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) issued a regulation prohibiting
spouses, children and relatives of cadres to work as subordinate
employees in the government or Party unit where the cadre takes a
leading post.
The regulation also bans officials working in a government
office that controls or supervises any industry or enterprise in
which their family members hold shares.
Officials are also prohibited from taking senior posts in the
CPC committee, government, court and prosecuting organs of the
county and prefecture in which they are born and grew up, according
to the regulation.
Checking nepotism is part of the ministry's effort to curb
corruption this year, according to sources at a teleconference
among justice departments.
The ministry will also target government cadres who take
advantage of their posts to buy apartments much cheaper than market
prices or occupy houses and cars on "loan".
Cadres who try to seek illicit benefits by gambling or
fabricating investment in securities and other financial fields
would also be purged, said the ministry.
The ministry would also strengthen investigations into abuse of
power, especially the abuse of judicial power.
Efforts would also be focused on cheating in tenders for
government-funded projects, selling land at below market prices,
investing in the development of mines, as well as concealing,
privately sharing, transferring or cheaply selling state capital
during the restructuring and reform of state-owned enterprises, the
ministry said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2007)