Xi Jinping, the new
head of China’s ruling Communist Party, told his fellow leaders that unless
they address corruption social unrest may rise and it could lead to the demise
of the party.
“The preponderance of facts tell us that the more severe the
corruption problem becomes, it will ultimately lead the party and the nation to
perish!” Xi told members of the ruling Politburo on Nov. 17 in remarks
published today in the People’s Daily, the party newspaper. “We must be
vigilant!”
Xi’s comments were
made two days after he took over leadership of the 82-million member party from
Hu Jintao, who is also expected to turn over the state presidency to Xi in
March. The Communist Party was rocked by the biggest political scandal in a
generation this year with the ouster of Bo Xilai from the Politburo in April
and the conviction in August of his wife for the murder of a British
businessman.
Xi told a study group
of the ruling Politburo that the collapse of some regimes around the world in
recent years was linked to rising corruption, saying that “first the body rots,
then the worms grow,” according to the remarks published in the People’s Daily.
Xi also said that all cadres must restrain their relatives, show self
restraint, never abuse their power and never enjoy special privileges.
“Everyone in violation of party discipline must be punished,” Xi
said. “We can’t be soft.”
The phrase Xi used to
warn about corruption endangering the party was similar to that used by Hu in a
Nov. 8 speech, during which he told delegates to the 18th Communist Party
Congress that “if we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to
the Party, and even cause the collapse of the Party and the fall of the state.”
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