Wo De Ming Zi Shi “Patsy”
Well, someone had to take the blame.
Twelve officials have been fired by the Chinese government for their handling of the earthquake that struck the country last month.
They were sacked for dereliction of duty and misuse of relief supplies following the Sichuan quake on 12 May.
The anti-corruption department received 1,178 complaints explosing “misuse of tents, food and other relief supplies”, said Supervision Minister Ma Wen.
A further 31 officials were reprimanded by the department.
“Some [complaints] revealed the slow reaction and poor ability of a few cadres,” Ms Ma added.
A few cadres. Not an endemic problem with centralized government, but with a few bad apples. My favorite bit comes at the end.
The central leadership has warned that their party’s own survival depends on its ability to curb corruption.
Uh, no. Corruption is a way of life here. Without corruption nothing would get done. Corruption is efficient. Rather than dicking around with some massive bureaucracy somewhere you grease a few palms and BINGO! your problem is solved. No, the long term stability of the party depends on their ability to keep the people happy, to keep the wages rising and the quality of life along with it, to provide Playsyations and XBoxes and iPods and fake designer clothing. This is what the people want, and as long as the government can maintain that way of life they’ve got no real troubles. It seems to me that bribery isn’t inconsistent with reform, only because this is the way that things have been done for so long it’s the only way people know how to get anything done. If you want something you ask around if anyone “knows a guy.” Ultimately someone will, and you’ll be introduced to him in a near ceremonial manner. “I present this new client to you. Please give me face by giving him a good deal.” That’s how it works. If someone gets a kickback for the business they bring in all the better.
Weeding corruption out of Chinese government is as futile as trying to pick the seeds out of a really bad bag of marijuana. After the stems and seeds are gone there’s nothing of substance left, and you think “I paid 200 yuan for this crap?” That will be the experience of a corruption-free China. It will be a nightmare for both the people and the government.
Better to return to a sustained, monitored, and manageable level of corruption, which will provide the people with the only real means they’ve ever known by which they can obtain the things they need. Separating corruption in China is like trying to get drinking banned in Las Vegas, the city just won’t work without it.
I say bring on the corruption. Once you learn whose palms to grease your life becomes infinitely better, and far preferable to the 10 hour waiting lines that the non-bribery suckers have to put up with. (My company hired someone to stand in line for me all day. Then, as it came close to my turn, they sent a text message to one of the girls in the office who said, “Quickly, we must go to the PSB (Public Security Bureau).” I didn’t have to wait for anything, it was awesome, we walked in, found our line holder, and were in and out in 10 minutes.
Bribery is the cement that binds society together. Without it people will be slaves to the state even more than they are now, and slaves to the state are not a happy populace. The next few years, starting with the period after the games, are going to define China’s future. Let’s hope they do it the right way.
Update: Just had another thought. At least Hu Jintao didn’t call in his disaster relief guy and say, “You’re doing a heckuva job, Zhang Zhang.”
