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Pernicious custom? Corruption, culture, and the efficacy of anti-corruption campaigning in China

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Abstract

This paper argues that using a legal approach to fight against corruption having a cultural root is unlikely to be effective. By analyzing the Eight-point Regulation, one of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption measures, the present study shows that the efficacy of the Regulation is limited, notably when it comes to non-economic types of corruption. In fact, the Regulation does not halt the culture of gift giving, which is a common practice for the Chinese to establish guanxi (social connection) for potential or actual corruption. Based on the findings, this paper proposes complementary measures to curb corruption in addition to legal approaches.

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Notes

  1. According to the authors, the non-economic type of corruption refers to those cases involving ethical and moral deviation of public officials.

  2. The English version of the Eight-point Regulation can be consulted via the website of China Daily [43].

  3. On other anti-corruption campaigns of the CCP, see Bertram Lang’s contribution to this volume.

  4. Note that only those cases filed for investigation by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) are taken into account in this study.

  5. Note that, in 2013 and 2014, the CCDI casted “gift-giving” and “illicit feasting and feudal rites” into the categories of “other”. This explains why “other” has an important percentage. It also makes it difficult to observe the percentage of “gift giving” in the first two years since the promulgation of the Regulation.

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Correspondence to Tony C. Lee.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 2 Comparison of global and Chinese norms on corruption

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Lee, T.C. Pernicious custom? Corruption, culture, and the efficacy of anti-corruption campaigning in China. Crime Law Soc Change 70, 349–361 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-017-9735-x

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