“Why was our party so powerful in the past? In the war years, we often said that if the party member made up 30 percent of an army company, that company must be very good and have a strong fighting capacity. Why? Because party members were invariably the first to charge and the last to withdraw on the battlefield, the first to bear hardship and the last to enjoy comforts in daily life… Now some Party members are different. They join the party in order to be first to enjoy comforts and last to bear hardship.”

-- Deng Xiaoping

Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption push. Source: en.mercopress.com

Many countries can lay claim to the meaning of the “fish rotting" proverb, but regardless of its source, the outcome is often true.

When an organization or state fails, it is the leadership, or lack of, that is the root cause.

Almost 3,000 deputies to the National People's Congress have gathered in Beijing to discuss matters of national importance – as new state leaders are elected at the session – which runs through March 17. The session will culminate with Communist Party Secretary General, Xi Jinping replacing Hu Jintao as President of China.

It seems China's Xi Jinping got the memo from Premier Deng and has grasped the meaning of this proverb. He appears to understand that leadership and accountability must begin at the top.

Upon his elevation, Communist chief Xi has warned that corruption has the potential not only to bring about the demise of the party but also bring about the downfall of the country. In a closed-door meeting with members of the new Politburo of the Communist Party of China, Xi spoke powerfully about the need to reverse out-of-control corruption that he acknowledged about other nations, which was directly responsible for political unrest and the ultimate collapse of those governments.

Xi did not mention countries, but he was clearly referring to Egypt, Libya and other totalitarian, corrupt governments that have been tossed out in the wake of the Arab Spring revolutions.

However, corruption and environmental degradation could also bring down the Chinese Communist Party. Pollution is a visible sign that a government does not care for its people. Recent air quality was so bad in Beijing that bloggers referred to it as "Airpocolypse."

There is an old expression that perhaps you have heard from your mother or grandmother: “You have only one chance to make a first impression.”
It seems Xi Jinping learned this saying during his earlier visit to Iowa in the early 1980s. He is resetting the stage for what is acceptable behavior by top Chinese officials.

Seeming extremely comfortable in his own skin, Xi exhorts party leaders to conduct the people's business in a more down-to-earth way without enriching themselves at the expense of the people.

There is also a business technique being used by new leaders called “painting the lobby.” As a new leader, one must demonstrate early on, in concrete ways, that a new day has arrived.

Xi seems to be “painting the lobby” with his setting a new tone for leadership in China. His strong anti-corruption language signals to the world that there is a new leader in town and the party will not tolerate abuse of official power.

In speaking to his colleagues, Xi reminded them using an old Chinese proverb, "Things must first rot before worms grow.” He clearly sees corruption as a threat to his party and leadership legitimacy.

It seems that the new general secretary is acting on another old Chinese saying as he implements tough new anti-corruption and conspicuous consumption by top officials: "Kill the chickens to scare the monkeys.”

Within weeks of enacting the new policy, a top-level Chinese official was investigated for "breaching party discipline," an action that underscores the seriousness of the leadership’s new anti-corruption drive.

Xi made clear that party members should take a clear stand against corruption and remain vigilant about the abuse of power by relatives.

"Recently, our party has had serious discipline and legal cases of a despicable nature which has had a bad political effect and shocked people,” he said.

Party leaders have to be looking over their shoulder, wondering what steps Xi may advance on the issue of corruption going forward.

Time will certainly tell whether Xi’s actions represent a new direction or are simply a way of diverting attention away to corruption that might be too close for comfort. Last year, Bloomberg News made a bold claim, reporting on Xi’s extended family status as a “princeling family,” and using their political connections to accumulate immense wealth. The New York Times also reported a similar scandal about outgoing premier Wen Jiabao’s family. Both stories were quickly scrubbed from the Chinese Internet.

I do not raise these issues to cast aspersions on China or to interfere with their internal affairs. I do not wish to denigrate the remarkable progress China has made throughout recent history. I do not wish China to fail. To the contrary, as I have written on many occasions, the world needs China to succeed. Without maintaining a "mandate from heaven," this is not possible.

In fact, the West had its share of corruption during its industrial revolution. Eric Hobsbawm in his book, The Age of Capital: 1848-1875 points out that the United States was "the most lawless place on earth, with rampart corruption."

The Chinese people are not oblivious to the corruption and abuse of power by those in power in China.

Microbloggers are using technology to expose corrupt officials. To date, Internet users, utilizing pseudonyms and acting without fear of being identified or punished, are attempting to open the eyes of average Chinese people in exposing the ugly underbelly of Chinese corruption.

Just weeks ago, Human Rights Watch reported that, “On Dec. 28, 2012, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body, passed the decision to strengthen the protection of online information. The decision contains troubling provisions that require Internet access and telecommunications providers to collect personal information about users when they sign up for Internet access, a landline, or mobile phone service. Paragraph 6 of the decision also applies to service providers that allow users to publish online, who must be able to connect pseudonyms to real identities when citizens post information.

While on the one hand, Xi appears to be clamping down on party corruption, on the other, the party is actually stripping ordinary people of the most effective tools of self-policing.

Deng had it right. Party leaders cannot continue to be “first to enjoy comforts and last to bear hardship.” As Xi obviously grasps, the world has witnessed what happens when corruption levels become intolerable for the masses.

"Serve the People" or "Service for the People" is a political slogan which originates from the title of a speech by Mao Zedong, as the party struggled to take power in 1944.

Time will tell if Xi’s vaunted "paint the lobby" will fade or whether this is a new day of "Serve the People.”

Tom Watkins serves on the University of Michigan Confucius Institute board of advisors and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation international advisory board. He is the former state superintendent of schools, president and CEO of the economic council of Palm Beach County, FL. and is currently a U.S.-China business and educational consultant.

See original article here: The Oakland Press

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Keywords: Xi Jinping corruption Xi Jinping anti-corruption