Is there no distinction between explicit and implicit bribery, formal and actual bribery, and formal bribery? Strictly investigate corruption behind "human relations"! anti-corruption

The Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Sanmen County, Zhejiang Province, have strengthened the analysis and judgment of related cases in response to the corruption problem hidden behind the so-called "human exchange". They have conducted in-depth investigations and investigations into the use of food, drink, gifts, and other means of exchanging benefits and requesting services. The picture shows disciplinary inspection and supervision officials in the county investigating and verifying relevant problem clues. Photo by Chen Changhui

The recent notice issued by the disciplinary inspection and supervision organs shows that with the renovation of bribery methods, some bribe givers have labeled bribery as "human relations" and engaged in "explicit and covert bribery", "formal and actual bribery", and "indistinguishable bribery". The tainted "human relations" have become a means of bribery against leading cadres and public officials.

The distorted "human relations", the opening of the door to power and money transactions, and the pollution of political ecology and social atmosphere must be effectively rectified. How to distinguish the boundary between gifts and bribery, and between receiving gifts and accepting bribes? How to resolutely crack down on bribery crimes that involve the act of trading power money in the guise of "human relations"? The reporter conducted an interview report.

Bribery methods have been innovated in various ways, disguised as "human relations", to exercise the power of money transactions

During the detention period, Huang Xiangyang, former second level police chief of Jinhu County Public Security Bureau in Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, regretted deeply.

Huang Xiangyang and the former legal representative of a company in Chengdu, Wu, grew up together since childhood and were classmates in high school, often walking around each other. Every time there is a red and white celebration, both families have personal connections. However, as Huang Xiangyang's position was promoted, their interactions gradually deteriorated.

In May 2018, Huang Xiangyang, while serving as a instructor at Licheng Town Police Station of Jinhu County Public Security Bureau, took advantage of the convenience formed by his work relationship to plead with the case handlers about Wu's company's false issuance of value-added tax special invoices, and provided assistance to Wu in determining the facts of the case. To express his gratitude to Huang Xiangyang, Wu made a special trip back to Jinhu from Chengdu and invited him to a dinner party on the grounds of not seeing him for a long time. After the meal, he said to Huang Xiangyang, "Your granddaughter is about to turn one year old, so I brought her a set of gold bracelets from Chengdu." Huang Xiangyang politely accepted this set of gifts worth 32000 yuan. Huang Xiangyang also has other disciplinary and illegal issues. In December 2021, he was punished with "double punishment". In April 2022, he was sentenced to one year imprisonment with a one-year probation for the crime of accepting bribes and bribery by units.

Cai Yongguang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Yuhuan City, Zhejiang Province, told reporters that in recent years, in order to avoid the risk of illegal and criminal activities, bribe givers have increasingly innovated their methods, and have gradually become one of the typical types of bribery crimes in the current market, disguised as "human relations transactions". Zhang Ming, Director of the Case Trial Office of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission in Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, analyzed that bribery is actually done under the name of "human relations". In terms of identity relationships, the two parties generally engage in external forms of personal relationships such as relatives, classmates, fellow villagers, and friends; In terms of time and occasions, they are generally received and sent during traditional festivals, such as the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, or folk customs, such as red and white ceremonies, school entrance, relocation, etc; The types mainly include receiving and sending valuable gifts, consumption cards, red envelopes, etc.

In March of this year, Chen Jizhong, former Secretary of the Party Committee of Fengcheng Town in Fengxian District, Shanghai, and former first level researcher of the Civil Defense Office of Fengxian District, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison and fined RMB 500000 for the crime of accepting bribes. His illegal gains were confiscated and turned over to the national treasury. Yuan, the chairman of a certain real estate company, broke through Chen Jizhong's ideological defense through "human relations".

Before the Spring Festival in 2005, Chen Jizhong and his family of three visited Yuan's home at his invitation. During this period, Yuan recognized Chen Jizhong's daughter as his goddaughter and gave Chen Jizhong 20000 yuan in cash on the spot as so-called "New Year's money". Afterwards, every year before the Spring Festival, Chen Jizhong would receive 20000 yuan of "New Year's money" from Yuan at his home. In 2014, Yuan raised the "New Year's money" to 100000 yuan, citing the high cost of having his daughter attend high school. Until 2020, Chen Jizhong had received a total of 880000 yuan in New Year's money.

In addition to Yuan, several private enterprise owners engaged in business production and undertaking engineering projects in Fengxian also choose suitable opportunities during holidays such as the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid Autumn Festival to show goodwill by hosting banquets and sending red envelopes to Chen Jizhong. These bosses may seem unrewarding, but in reality, they are fishing for big fish in the long run, hoping to pave the way for their future projects and projects through long-term emotional investment.

Peng Wei, Deputy Director of the Third Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, analyzed that there are various types of bribes taken by individuals dressed in the guise of "human relationships". Overall, they can be divided into the following types: first, holiday greetings, giving gifts, gold cards, or precious tobacco, alcohol, specialty products, jewelry, collectibles, etc. that are significantly beyond a reasonable range during holidays and festivals; The second is to care about the family type, using excuses such as children studying abroad, family members receiving medical treatment for illnesses, families buying houses and cars, etc. to accept gifts, condolence funds, and "loans", or long-term "borrowing" of bribes to bribe people's housing and vehicles; The third is to provide a channel type, where the briber provides the so-called "investment channel" to the bribe taker under the pretext of helping with investment or partnering to do business, and delivers benefits under the pretext of interest and income.

"For both parties involved in bribery, 'personal connections' are in line with their criminal psychology." Peng Wei analyzed that for bribe givers, using the guise of' personal connections' makes it easier to approach each other, making it easier for them to accept and refuse, and also conducive to spreading the network of relationships to each other's families and establishing long-term connections; For bribe takers, having the psychological suggestion of "interpersonal relationships" makes it easier for them to engage in self persuasion, leading to a failure of integrity and self-discipline.

There is a fundamental difference between normal transactions and bribery under the guise of "human relations"

In practice, it is not uncommon to see "clear and covert bribery", "formal and actual bribery", and "indistinguishable bribery". Some bribe givers label bribery behavior as "human exchange", attempting to blur the boundary between gift giving and bribery, as well as between accepting gifts and accepting bribes. In fact, there is a fundamental difference between normal transactions and bribery under the guise of "human relations".

According to Article 10 of the Opinions of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Commercial Bribery, the boundary between bribery and gift is mainly judged based on the following four aspects: the background of the occurrence of property transactions, such as whether there is a family friend relationship between the two parties, and the situation and degree of historical communication; The value of property exchanged; The reasons, timing, and methods of financial transactions, and whether the financial party has any official requests from the recipient; Does the recipient take advantage of their position to seek benefits for the provider.

Zheng Juanjuan, member of the Standing Committee of the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Supervisory Commission of Shayang County, Hubei Province, analyzed that normal communication is based on emotions, without any conditions attached, and has no connection with illegitimate interests; Bribery is a power and money transaction based on the recipient's position, social status, or interests. Peng Wei said that the practice of bribery under the name of "human relations" generally conforms to the following characteristics: impure human relations, abnormal amounts, and unequal transactions. These characteristics are also the key to distinguishing between normal transactions and illegal bribery crimes.

"Tearing off the veil of 'human relations', the key lies in correctly distinguishing between power and emotions." Wu Guisheng, Director of the Case Trial Office of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, said that the first step is to determine whether the relationship between the two parties is equal. Normal exchanges often occur between specific relationships such as blood relatives, marriage relatives, and colleagues. Both parties are based on blood and emotions, familiar with each other, and have equal identities. The establishment of a relationship between the two parties involved in bribery is based on power and power is the bond; The second is to determine whether the purpose of the gift has a pleading nature. Normal transactions do not have a pleading reason, but rather a form of reciprocity; The third is to determine whether the flow of property has a bidirectional nature. Normal transactions usually involve mutual exchange, that is, the flow of property has a bidirectional equivalence, while bribery is essentially a "money for power" or "power money transaction," and the flow of property has a unidirectional nature; The fourth is to determine whether the transaction amount is reasonable. Based on the local economic development level, there are certain standards and limits for normal transactions, while bribery often clearly exceeds the normal transaction range in terms of amount.

Li Kun, Director of the First Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of the Qiantang District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision in Hangzhou, stated that when investigating relevant cases, disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies should focus on the core of whether there is "money flowing power", and focus on whether there are specific requests, whether they promise or actually seek benefits for others, and carry out review and investigation. For example, Hua, former member of the Party group and deputy director of the Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau in Qiantang District, Hangzhou, once received a cash gift of 60000 yuan from private enterprise owner Shui in the name of wishing his mother-in-law a birthday, as well as a necklace worth tens of thousands of yuan from Shui's wife during the Spring Festival. During the investigation of the case, the "red envelope" and necklace given by Mr. and Mrs. Shui to Mr. Hua were packaged with human emotions and customs. Considering the great "intersection" between Mr. Hua's job responsibilities and Mr. Shui's company's business operations, the investigators conducted a thorough investigation of the key situation of "receiving money+making promises or actually seeking profits", and dismantled the offensive defensive alliance that attempted to make power and money transactions "reasonable".

Experts suggest that when dealing with relevant cases, a comprehensive analysis and judgment should be made based on the background of financial transactions, whether there is a family and friend relationship between the two parties, the historical situation and degree of communication, the value of the property, the timing and method of payment, as well as whether there are requests for assistance and whether the convenience of the position is used to seek benefits. Bribery crimes disguised as "human relations transactions" should be resolutely cracked down on.

From June to October 2016, a lawyer and partner at a law firm in Beijing, Mr. Lv, requested the assistance of the then legal officer of a certain court, Mr. Lv, in order to obtain a favorable handling of the case he represented. He also provided Mr. Lv with a total of 200000 yuan in cash in two installments in the court's legal officer reserve room and other places. At the same time as investigating and punishing Lv, the supervisory authorities timely initiated the investigation procedure into Lv's bribery case. L ü argued that he did not actually seek any improper benefits through L ü, and pointed out that he had known L ü for a long time and believed that they were of the same lineage due to their shared surname. His money transactions with L ü were considered personal relationships and loans, and he had repeatedly requested L ü to refund them. The supervisory authority conducted solid evidence collection and found that although Lv and Lv were referred to as "brothers", they had no family relationship and had no economic relations. Lv did not request a refund of money from Lv. On this basis, the procuratorial organs strengthen their analysis and argumentation, and determine that the money given by Lv to Lv has characteristics such as only occurring within the time period of the incident and being given unilaterally. The behavior lacks legitimate reasons and does not belong to mutual assistance based on family and friend relationships. It also far exceeds the quantity and value of general assistance and gifts between friends. The status of both parties is unequal, and it clearly has the characteristics of power and money transactions. Lv was sentenced to ten months imprisonment, one year probation, and a fine for bribery.

To eliminate corruption hidden behind "human relations", it is necessary to continuously deepen supervision of "key minorities" and make efforts to improve institutional mechanisms

When human relations are mixed with power, money, and profit, it is easy to become "indiscriminate bribery and propriety.". Some leading cadres, amidst the greetings from classmates, friends, and relatives, have lost their vigilance towards "human relations" and cannot see clearly the true purpose of so-called "human relations", falling into the trap of "human relations".

Li Wei, Director of the Party Conduct and Political Conduct Supervision Office of the Taizhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, analyzed that the reasons for this are: on the one hand, some leading cadres do not have strict requirements for themselves, do not hold the bottom line firmly, have a weak ideological style, and have the thoughts of "loyalty" and "being friends", which makes them easily hit by the sugar coated bullets of "human relations"; On the other hand, the relevant departments have inadequate supervision and management of party members and cadres, and their daily supervision and investigation are not timely enough to deter them.

To avoid becoming a "frog" paralyzed by "warm water", leading cadres should start from themselves and build a strong ideological defense line against corruption and change. The Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Yangzhong City, Jiangsu Province, take the "Clean Wind Action" as the starting point, closely monitor the "human exchange" during holidays and red and white events, conduct special supervision, comprehensively investigate and judge abnormal situations, resolutely investigate and deal with power rent-seeking, interest transmission and other problems behind them, maintain deterrence, and strive to break the illusion of leaders confusing the public with "human exchange".

From the investigation and handling of cases, it can be seen that corruption in personal relationships is often related to the family of the bribe taker. Measures such as improving the reporting system for personal matters of leading cadres, building a clean family culture, and conducting clean government home visits can help strengthen supervision of leading cadres. The Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Shayang County have established a cooperative relationship with the prison in their jurisdiction for warning education, and regularly organize leaders and family members of all units in the county to receive warning education in the prison. Cadres and their families experienced real prison scenes on site, witnessed real and vivid corruption cases, listened to the profound repentance of former public officials after committing illegal crimes, and felt the huge contrast between freedom and a wall due to a "one thought difference". Their hearts were deeply shocked and challenged, further strengthening the defense line of integrity.

To eradicate corruption in human relationships, efforts should be made not only in supervising and investigating key minorities, but also in establishing and improving institutional mechanisms. The "besieger" essentially values the power or position influence in the hands of the "besieger", attempting to seek benefits for them in engineering project acceptance, job promotion, and promotion through "human relations". In order to deepen and solidify the investigation and handling of cases in the second half of the article, the Yuhuan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision pays attention to the joint and comprehensive efforts of "punishment, governance, and prevention", and conducts research on typical problems, manifestations, and underlying causes through the linkage of "departments". It issues disciplinary inspection and supervision suggestions to the Municipal Finance Bureau, the Municipal Urban Construction Group, and other units, requires a solid construction of a clean government risk prevention and control mechanism, promotes the development and improvement of financial reimbursement management, engineering quantity measurement and payment management methods, and introduces third-party organizations to participate in consulting and evaluation, and supervises the entire process of engineering contractors and supervisors, striving to cut off the path of "human interest" transmission.

Adhere to the joint investigation of bribery and bribery, and cut off the chain of interests between being "besieged" and being willing to be "besieged". The Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission of Wenling City, Zhejiang Province, have taken serious measures against massive and repeated bribery. Establish a "blacklist" system for bribe givers, including "besieging" leading cadres, enterprises and individuals who engage in bribery, and implement dynamic management and joint punishment to increase the illegal costs of bribe givers. At the same time, increase the exposure of bribery cases. Efforts will be made to build a new type of pro Qing political business relationship, promote the optimization of the business environment, open up "disciplinary enterprise direct communication codes", broaden channels for enterprise supervision and reporting, and effectively promote a comprehensive approach to addressing both symptoms and root causes.