Wu Guangqiang

    ACCORDING to a plan approved by the Central Government, Qianhai in western Shenzhen will blossom into “Southern China’s Manhattan,” becoming one of the foremost service industry centers in the Pearl River Delta area.

    To escape from the much-resented bureaucracy, corruption and incompetence associated with Chinese officialdom, some brave experiments will be carried out in governance and oversight in order to increase efficiency.

    The idea of imitating Hong Kong’s successful measures is a noteworthy one. The special zone will be run by an administration committee of 11 members — two of them from Hong Kong, although selected by the Shenzhen government. A new anti-corruption body similar to Hong Kong’s ICAC will be set up to curb rampant corruption. Even a new court to be set up will adopt some of Hong Kong’s judiciary practices.

    For the public, the real eye-opener will be the requirement that all top Qianhai officials declare their incomes and financial records. It will be one of the few places on the mainland to do so. According to a draft law announced by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on March 23, all 11 members of the committee, along with directors of the Qianhai Management Bureau, its senior management staff, ombudsman and assistant ombudsmen, will be required to make their incomes public and declare any connections or interests that may relate to the decisions they make regarding policymaking and management.

    Several localities on the mainland, including Pudong in Shanghai, Liuyang City and Xiangxiang County in Hunan, and the Altay prefecture in Xinjiang, began in 2008 requiring cadres to declare their incomes. But the Qianhai draft will be the first such law on the mainland if it is approved by lawmakers.

    In many other countries, government officials’ finances being made public is an effective means of combating corruption. About 230 years ago, Sweden was the first country in the world to have its officials to declare their wealth. In 1883, the U.K. adopted the world’s first law requiring official financial transparency. The U.S. introduced the practice in 1978, making it a rule that all officials from the president to local administrators fill out declaration forms by the deadline and all the forms are subject to public inquiry and supervision. Violations such as refusal to declare, making false claims, intentionally or unintentionally, or unjustified delay in submission, will be subject to punishment including fines, dismissal and imprisonment. Even in Russia, laws have been instated to have officials declare their annual income before April 30 each year. The figures should be published on the Internet within 14 days of that deadline.

    China is one of the few countries that have no such laws. The chief resistance comes from none other than the officials themselves at all levels — the supposed target of the measure. A survey in 2009 showed that 70 percent of the interviewed officials were against a mandated income declaration.

    Given the complexity of China’s situation, there will be enormous difficulties in pushing forward with the reform. For one thing, if the new law only requires officials to make public personal income and interests, it means they don’t have to declare their property and other assets, leaving behind a lot of grey areas. In addition, how income is defined will be the key. Unless there is an effective mechanism to find out how much wealth individual officials possess, it will be pointless requiring public declaration.

    As is known to all in China, “grey income” is the main source of revenue for corrupt officials. Under no circumstances will they declare such income. So, if no effective measures are made to monitor their accounts — overt or covert — it will be another futile attempt.

    So I do hope the Qianhai reform is comprehensive and enforced. Neither Shenzhen nor China can afford any more delays in keeping corruption at bay.

    (The author is an English tutor and a freelance writer. He can be reached at jw368@163.com.)