To Curb Graft, Party to Consider Changes to Official Housing System

11.20.2013 15:25

To Curb Graft, Party to Consider Changes to Official Housing System

Professor’s idea to provide homes for more leaders – then make sure they move out after they leave office – made it into plenum document

By staff reporter Zhou Tian

(Beijing) – The ruling Communist Party will explore ways to provide housing to officials as a way of trying to curb property-related graft, a document released after a major party meeting says. The idea for the system comes from Wang Yukai, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, an institution in the capital that trains government officials. Wang proposed the idea to the party’s 18th Central Committee in July. His ideas were presented in an essay that explored how officials’ housing was handled abroad and in ancient China, and the feasibility of implementing new approaches.The proposals were included in a 20,000-character “decision” document released after the third full meeting of the Central Committee, a conclave that was held from November 9 to 12 in Beijing. The document was released to the public on November 15 and media outlets are still combing through it to try to divine the direction of reforms the party intends to pursue.

Wang’s proposal says corruption related to properties is prevalent among party members and government officials.

For example, the official People’s Daily reported this year that the government of Liuzhou, in southern region of Guangxi, dedicated an entire high-end residential area to the city’s top officials.

Each apartment was 340 square meters, while the average Chinese person had a living space of less than 40 square meters last year. Despite this, officials in Liuzhou were able to buy apartments for half what homes in the surrounding area cost.

Cases of corrupt local officials owning multiple properties – sometimes more than 100 – have often been exposed in recent years. Investigators found that former railway minister Liu Zhijun owned 374 properties. Liu was sentenced to what amounts to life in prison in July for taking bribes.

Other officials abuse their power to rack up huge profits by flipping properties, while others takes homes built with public funds for their own.

Personnel reshuffles further complicate the problem. To curb graft and increase understanding between the central and local levels of governments, the party frequently relocates high-level officials. When a new leader is parachuted into a local government, the latter provides him with a residence that usually becomes a personal asset. Moreover, retired officials tend to occupy their residences and pass along to family members.

In his proposal, Wang used as an example a leadership residential compound for a province he did not name. The compound had 29 properties. Eight were taken by current provincial officials, two were used by families of officials who have moved elsewhere, 17 were in the hands of retired officials and two were too rundown to use.

“The compound will become elder-care housing in a few years,” Wang wrote. “And this situation is rampant in China.”

He suggests the party address the problem by providing housing for officials while they are in office, in much the same way the United States, South Korea and Britain provide residences for their leaders.

Many of China’s top leaders get homes in the Zhongnanhai compound near Tiananmen Square in the capital, but they usually keep the home when they retire.

The professor says examples of the government providing homes for serving officials can be found in Chinese history, but the approach was abandoned after the party came to power in 1949.

He proposes that officials at both the central and lower levels of power be provided with housing. At the highest level this would cover offices such as the president; premier; chairman of the National People’s Congress, the nation’s highest legislature; and the country’s top judge and prosecutor.

The idea would also provide housing for top officials serving at the provincial, city and county level.

Temporary housing would also be provided to officials who are sent into the field for long periods, such as representatives from the party’s personnel and anti-corruption watchdog and public security bureaus.

Wang said he anticipated two problems that would need to be addressed before the system could be put in place. New leaders could be included in the system right away, but questions about handling retirees would have to be answered. Another potential problem revolved around how people receiving promotions would be handled.

The party should also promote making officials’ property holdings public and allow the public to report suspected wrongdoing in this area, Wang said.