Everyinstitutionthatholdspoweroverothersriskscorruptionwhenrestrictionsandchecksonpowerfail.Theanti-corruptioncampaignoftheCPChasgarneredinterestaroundtheworld,notonlybecauseofChina’sinfluence,butalsobecausemanynationsareexperiencingsimilardomesticproblems.Recenteventsinmanycountriesattesttotheuniversalityofcorruption.Russia’sMinisterofEconomicDevelopmentwasarrestedonsuspicionoftakingbribes.Indialauncheddemonetizationofhigh-denominationbanknotestofightagainstcorruptionandtheflowofblackmoney.TheSouthKoreanpresidentialscandalinvolvedafriendoftheleaderbeingaccusedofextortinghugesumsofmoneyasdonationsfrombigbusinesses.FrancisFukuyamawroteinForeignAffairsthatDonaldTrumpwontheAmericanpresidencyinpartbecauseofthepublic’sangerat“thecaptureofthepoliticalsystembywell-organizedinterestgroups.”TheresolutionandstrategiesinvolvedinChina’slatestcrackdownoncorruption,whicharebeinganalyzedglobally,havemuchtoofferevenformoreadvancednations.
Afterthe18thCPCNationalCongress,thePartylaunchedanambitiousanticorruptioncampaign.ThepoliticalecologywithinthePartyhasimprovedremarkably.Theworld’sreactiontothecampaignbeganwithquicklyrunningheadlinesreportingthearrestofhigh-rankingofficialsonebyone,thenturnedtocomplimentingthecampaignas“morethanagustofwind,”andfinallyformedawidespreadconsensusthattheParty’seffortswereagroundbreakingpoliticalinnovationofthetimes.Theconsensuswasfollowedbymyriadcomparisonsandreflections.JosephSamuelNye,Jr.,thescholarwhocoinedtheterm“softpower,”oncepositedthatanti-corruptioneffortswouldenhancetheCPC’ssoftpower.Thatnotionseemstohavebeenprovenaccurate.Afterthesixthplenarysessionofthe18thCPCCentralCommittee,manyobserverswhopreviouslyshowedlittleregardforChina’spoliticsmadeaU-turn,pickingapartseeminglysimplestatements,suchas“Apermanentcureisachievedbyanaccumulationoftemporarysolutions,”“Supportofthepeopleisthecoreofpolitics,”and“Toforgeiron,thehammermustbestrong,”foundintheCPCCentralCommittee’sreports.AsthepracticeofstrengtheningPartydisciplinehasstartedbeingillustratedintermsoftheoriesandsystems,China’suniqueideasonpoliticsandgovernancehavemorefrequentlyattractedinternationaldiscussion.
Norulingpartycanaffordtoturnablindeyetoself-governance,especiallyastheinternationalpoliticalsituationisundergoingprofoundchanges.IntheWesternworld,theU.K.votedtoleavetheEuropeanUnion,theEuropeancontinenthasseenasharpright-wingrise,andananti-establishmentcandidatewontheU.S.electionasalongshotunderdog.Aseriesofeventshasshownthatanaccumulationofproblemsinthosecountriesisexertingaheavyinfluenceontheirpolitics.Manycountriesareexperiencingpoliticaltransitions,whichmakesself-governanceofarulingpartyevenmoreimportant.Plentifulempiricalresearchhasshownthatcorruptionisalmostalwaystherootofsocialproblemsincludingthegapbetweentherichandthepoor.Corruptionmakesthecostofeconomicdevelopmentskyrocket.AccordingtostatisticsfromtheWorldBank,corruptioncausesannuallossesof20to40billionU.S.dollarsindevelopingcountries.AmericanscholarSamuelP.HuntingtonwroteinPoliticalOrderinChangingSocietiesthatcorruptionpeaksinthefiercestphaseofmodernization,regardlessofculture.Mostdevelopingnationsareintheprocessofmodernization,duringwhichbetterself-governanceoftherulingpartyisnecessaryformorecomprehensivedevelopment.
ThesuccessoftheCPC’seffortstostrengthenPartydisciplineisevenmoreencouraginginternationallyconsideringhowdesperatelyhigh-qualitygovernanceisneededaroundtheglobe.ThepoliticalwisdomandpowermanifestedinthecampaignisnotonlythekeytothesurvivaloftheCPCandprosperityofChina,butalsotohealthydevelopmentinanewworld.TheauthorisaneditorattheInternationalDepartmentofPeople’sDaily.