The world's most influential anti-corruption organization, Transparency International (TI), recently released the Corruption Perceptions Index, according to which New Zealand has the cleanest government. Since China ranks 79th on the index, it is time the government started a crackdown to root out corruption, says an article in Changjiang Times. Excerpts:

Anti-corruption organization, Transparency International (IT) says New Zealand has the cleanest government in the world because of the country's transparent administrative system, powerful public opinion and strong civic awareness.

An example will best illustrate how things work in New Zealand. Rodney Hide, minister of local government and leader of the ACT New Zealand political party, was recently under fire because he took his girlfriend (not his divorced wife, as some reports said) on two of his foreign tours and claimed reimbursement for 90 percent of her expenses.

Such things are no big deal in many other countries. But New Zealanders protested against it because only wives of ministers and officials are entitled to travel with them, and Hide isn't married to the woman for whom he claimed the tour expenses.

Ultimately, Hide had to make a public apology and return the money.

Thanks to New Zealand's transparent administrative system, people could check Hide's budgets on the Internet. The media found that he had claimed expenses for his girlfriend, too, and drew the attention of the public. In fact, civic awareness in New Zealand has made honesty the highest criterion for every official. Some people think it is not necessary for a government to be clean as long as it guarantees economic growth. They couldn't be more wrong. New Zealand's per capita GDP is $30,049, 10 times that of China.

The fact is that it's impossible to build a vigorous and strong economy on a corrupt social foundation. That's why China should now try to build a totally transparent government.