By Hu Shuli

(Caijing Magazine) The expression "tightening party discipline" appears three times in an official communiqué released at the conclusion of the recent Fourth Plenum of the 17th Congress of the Communist Party of China. It's a serious expression that drives home the need to effect a serious solution.

The communiqué frankly admits that many problems within party ranks "seriously weaken the party's creativity, solidarity and fighting spirit" and "seriously harm ties between the party and the people," as well as "seriously undermine its stability as the ruling party and fulfillment of its mission." It admonishes members to "keep the party's interest at heart, and accept responsibility for its revitalization."

The communiqué also includes a key refrain: "The party must be in control of the party." All the statements point to the need for self-reflection and a clear understanding of the party's status and mission.

These are sobering words indeed for a period of celebration, as our nation marks the 60th anniversary of a New China on October 1. Yet the communiqué also offers a clear and positive course of action by referring to "a resolute crackdown on corruption" as an "all-important political task for the party."

A day after the release of the plenum declaration, a separate communiqué issued by the Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection went further. It said that "on the basis of implementing the Regulations on Reporting Personal Information of Leading Cadres, property ownership, investment disclosure" and information about "the employment of spouses and children must be included in reports, and surveillance must be stepped up for public officials whose spouses and children have emigrated."

This follow-up communiqué has been hailed as a step forward for efforts to promote personal asset disclosure among officials. It won plaudits in China and overseas. And on the basis of this party decision, future reforms can move toward a "sunshine law" policy as an effective lever for tightening party discipline. Indeed, a sunshine statute may be considered crucial for China's anti-corruption crusade.

A sunshine law can require public officials to disclose personal assets as they change over time. The process helps curb corruption, providing a mechanism for preventing graft at the "end point." Conceived in Sweden some 200 years ago, sunshine laws have been adopted in many countries and have a proven record for saddling corruption and fostering clean governance.

China has systems for reporting or disclosing the assets of officials. Such initiatives have attracted wide attention from the public since the 1980s. (See "Thoughts on the Chen Liangyu Case" in Caijing, the 8th issue in 2008). Government agencies have worked hard to get results, sometimes accepting the need to take small steps on a long journey.

By following its Intra-party Oversight Regulation and Guidelines for Implementing an Anti-corruption Scheme, which focus on balancing education, institutions, discipline and prevention by fighting corruption, the ruling party has scored high points.

Specifically in the area of personal asset disclosure, the party has issued several regulations. The General Office of the party's Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued Regulations Regarding Income Disclosure by Cadres above the County Level in 1995. They issued Regulations on Reporting Important Personal Affairs two years later. Another set of standards called Provisional Regulations on Disclosing Household Assets of Provincial Leaders and Cadres was released in 2001 by the party's Central Disciplinary Committee and the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. Then in 2006, the disciplinary committee revised its Regulations on Reporting Personal Information of Leading Cadres.

The gradual enactment of these regulations provided a framework for the current policy. Meanwhile, local governments have adopted similar programs for official transparency. Since mid-2008, for example, officials in the cities of Aletai in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Cixi in Zhejiang Province, and Liuyang in Hunan Province have launched pilot projects that require officials to disclose their assets. Although still at preliminary stages, these projects have drawn widespread attention and enthusiastic support from the public. Meanwhile, a sunshine statute in Shanghai led to the recent downfall of Kang Huijun, former vice governor of Pudong District, who allegedly accepted nearly 6 million yuan in bribes, inspiring high hopes for an effective system.

The central disciplinary agency is now specifically scrutinizing officials whose spouses and children have emigrated, indicating a deepening and differentiation of the regulations. Although not all public officials whose families have emigrated are corrupt, this is often the case, and it's now an issue on the front lines of ongoing efforts to crack down on corruption.

In a report five years ago, the Ministry of Commerce said some 4,000 corrupt officials had fled the country with more than US$ 50 billion. Some runaways brought along relatives, but the vast majority sent spouses and children ahead of them through emigration, employment or study programs before joining them abroad later. This phenomenon demoralizes party members and infuriates the public, hurting the nation's image in the process. This is indeed a tricky part of the anti-corruption strategy. Now, if remedial actions yield results, the latest party plenum will have reached a major achievement in the effort to curb corruption.

Reforms can come gradually, but the process must be ongoing. Admittedly, China's existing assets disclosure rules lag far behind prevailing sunshine laws found in other parts of the world. And they should be improved. Among other deficiencies, their scope is too narrow and their reach not comprehensive enough. What's more, disclosure category and time limits run slack. Disclosures should be publicized and regulations made state law, while lessons gleaned from past experience should serve to strengthen implementation.

What should be underscored is that any sunshine law can only function as part of a much broader system for preventing corruption. Under the existing system, China does not lack regulations on paper, nor is there any shortage of specific, concrete measures. What's lacking is a systematic, organically coordinated and functioning institution.

In the final analysis, checking abuse of power is at the core of the anti-corruption drive. Therefore, the plenum communiqué gives lavish space to the democratic process, clearly spelling out that "intra-party democracy is the lifeblood of the party," and showing a commitment to more efforts that deepen reform in the area of cadre appointments, while moving on all fronts to curb corruption. The resolve is clear, and action should follow.