Be wary of new variants of corruption! Don't let "Yahao" become a breakthrough in "hunting" hobbies | leaders | hunting | bribery | Yahao | property | acceptance | Yahao

Case

In recent years, disciplinary issues related to "elegant bribery" have been continuously exposed. The website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission issued a notice to Cui Binzhou, former Party Secretary and President of the Zhejiang Branch of China Construction Bank. The notice pointed out that Cui Binzhou used his power for personal gain, used it for personal gain, accepted "elegant bribes", had an improper family conduct, lax family education, relied on his actions to eat his own business, seriously violated the political discipline of the Party, the spirit of the Central Eight point Regulations, organizational discipline, and integrity discipline, and was suspected of committing crimes while also refusing to restrain or stop after the 18th National Congress of the Party. His nature was serious and the impact was severe, and he should be dealt with seriously. Former Deputy Mayor of Xi'an, Qiang Xiao'an, who was expelled from the Party and punished for public office, has been prosecuted on suspicion of bribery. During his tenure in multiple positions from 2005 to 2020, Qiang Xiao'an illegally accepted 6 pieces of jade, gemstones, and 97 calligraphy and painting works from others, providing assistance to relevant personnel in engineering contracting and project construction. In addition, in order to receive the attention of Chen Guoqiang, the then Secretary General of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, Qiang Xiao'an gave him 10 calligraphy works by celebrities, equivalent to a total of 880000 yuan. Zhang Lingping, former deputy director of the Agriculture and Rural Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial People's Congress, known as the "Secretary of Calligraphy and Painting" by the local people, received more than 40 precious calligraphy and paintings from party members, cadres, business owners, and others. Zhang Lingping also had an "elegant" habit of collecting stones and cultural relics, which became a breakthrough point for him to be "hunted".

In the above cases, the phenomenon of "elegant bribery" evolving from "elegant good" is actually a new variant of corruption, which is more covert and confusing. Therefore, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection emphasized the resolute investigation and punishment of implicit corruption such as "elegant bribery". The reason why "elegant bribery" has concealment is that under the name of "elegance", it has covered this kind of corruption with a layer of vulgar "fig leaf". Some officials accept "elegant bribes" because they are enthusiastic about collecting celebrity calligraphy and paintings, some are obsessed with playing with jade, some are fond of photography art, and some are fond of precious flowers and plants. Compared with naked power and money transactions, these bribery methods seem to highlight the elegance of emotions and the nobility of taste, avoiding the blatant and vulgar nature of giving money directly. The second is to build a bridge of communication and interaction under the pretext of "good". Some bribe givers and bribe takers accept and give so-called "elegant items" on the grounds of exchanging interests with like-minded "like-minded people", which is considered normal reciprocity. The giver is natural, and the receiver is at ease. Some "poachers" also achieve the goal of corrupting and wooing leaders by sharing common interests and hobbies with their "poaching" targets, bringing them closer and blending emotions. The third reason is that "elegant and good" items such as calligraphy, painting, jade, antiques, etc. have significant price fluctuations, which also makes this violation of discipline more covert. Some officials, after an incident, use reasons such as "not knowing the actual price" and "thinking it is fake" to defend their bribery behavior. Compared to giving money directly, bribing individuals who give "elegant items" can easily reduce their psychological burden and sense of guilt.

Since "elegant bribery" is "bribery", it is not fundamentally different from other forms of bribery. To see the essence of bribery through the appearance of elegance. "Elegant bribery" cannot whitewash the alienation of power views. No matter how elegant the appearance of "elegant bribery" may be, what is reflected behind it is still the distortion of some leading cadres' views on power. Some leading cadres lack respect for power, treating the power granted by the Party and the people as private property, arbitrarily using their power, disregarding the trust and trust of the Party and the people, and using their power for personal gain to satisfy their own desires. "Elegant bribery" cannot change the essence of corrupt bribery. Although "elegant bribery" increases the concealment of corruption, its essence is still a trade of power and money. The purpose of briber giving "elegant items" is nothing more than to capture the power in the hands of leading cadres in exchange for resources, and the acceptance of "elegant items" by leading cadres is also a manifestation of rent-seeking power. Even some leading cadres accept "elegant bribes" not because they have "good elegance", but because they value the collection value and value-added space of calligraphy, painting, jade, etc. No matter how different the forms of bribes may be, they cannot be absolved of the charge of bribery. As leaders who receive so-called "elegant things", they have to try their best to meet the demands of others. "Ya bribe" cannot conceal the fact of "hunting" and being willing to be "hunted". The elegance of some leading cadres has become a breakthrough point for illegal businessmen to invest and hunt. The more obsessed one is with a hobby, the easier it is for them to relax their resistance consciousness. Some bribe givers use this to break through the ideological defenses of some leading cadres and achieve the goal of "hunting around". Some leading cadres accept "elegant bribes" because of their greed for money and materialism, and are willing to be "hunted".

Leaders and cadres who possess elegance and kindness are not inherently wrong, but if they pursue them excessively, exceed their capacity, and even use their power for personal gain to satisfy their hobbies, they will eventually embark on the path of violating discipline, law, or even committing crimes. According to the provisions of Article 88 of the Regulations of the CPC on Disciplinary Punishment, those who accept gifts, cash gifts, consumer cards, securities, stock rights, other financial products and other properties that may affect the fair performance of official duties shall be given a warning or a serious warning if the circumstances are relatively minor; If the circumstances are serious, the party shall be revoked of its position within the party or detained for observation; Those with serious circumstances shall be expelled from the Party. Those who accept other property that clearly exceeds normal reciprocity shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. Article 385 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that state officials who, taking advantage of their position, solicit property from others or illegally accept property from others for the benefit of others are guilty of bribery. Article 12 of the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Corruption and Bribery issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate in 2016 stipulates that "property" in bribery crimes includes currency, goods, and property interests. Property benefits include material benefits that can be converted into currency, such as house decoration and debt relief, as well as other benefits that require payment of currency, such as membership services and tourism. The criminal amount of the latter shall be calculated based on the actual amount paid or the amount that should be paid. According to the Implementation Regulations of the Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China, the supervisory organs can identify the value of the calligraphy, painting, jade, antiques and other property involved in the case of "elegant bribery", and the appraisal opinion can serve as evidence to prove the value of the property. It can be seen that whether the form of bribery is "vulgar" or "elegant", it does not affect the factual determination of its violation of discipline and law.

With the continuous promotion of the high-pressure anti-corruption situation, both parties in power and money transactions are increasingly concealing corrupt means such as "elegant bribery" in order to evade discipline and law, presenting some new trends. In this situation, it is more important to accurately identify and effectively combat hidden corruption issues. Strengthen the management of the art market, introduce relevant regulations to crack down on illegal art trading and auctions, and cut off the illegal profit chain that uses "Yahao" as a disguised transaction. Adhere to the joint investigation of bribery and acceptance, increase the crackdown on bribe givers, and increase the cost of bribery. We will focus on cracking down on corrupt behavior with malicious nature and serious harm, establish and improve a "blacklist" system for bribery, and resolutely cut off the chain of interests between "hunting" and being "hunted". Leading cadres should enhance their awareness of not wanting to be corrupt. The pursuit of health interests and hobbies by leading cadres is understandable in itself, as it can cultivate sentiments and cultivate physical and mental health. But love and be appropriate, be good and moderate, pursue hobbies within your abilities, and manage your hobbies properly. At the beginning of extravagance, danger is gradually approaching. A gentleman should choose things in a proper way and not involve personal interests in the use of public power, confusing the boundaries between public and private. Engaging in "power art transactions" may seem like a shortcut to satisfy personal desires, but in reality, it leads to a path of violation of discipline and law. At the same time, due to the more confusing nature of "elegant bribery", leaders and cadres should always tighten their ideological defenses in social interactions to prevent "elegance" from becoming their "dead end" and being exploited and corroded by those with ulterior motives. A gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall, how can he be treated casually? He should be cautious in using his power and making friends, consciously purifying his social circle, circle of friends, and life circle. Further tighten the fence against corruption, strengthen the deterrence against corruption, truly realize that the path of using power for personal gain is not feasible, and that this account must be accounted for. Be a clear person with firm political beliefs and compliance with rules and regulations.