Why an average case of Chinese corruption has become a national, internet-driven frenzy.
With the recent conclusion of President Hu’s official state visit to the United States, it is a good time to assess what was actually accomplished during this meeting. Call me a cynic, but I never expected much from this summit in terms of concrete promises or even of a general agreement over issues. I interpreted the meeting as an important symbol of the foundation of present and continued goodwill between these two nations in terms of trade and diplomatic relations. Obama’s administration did a relatively good job at meeting this goal by having great pomp and ceremony surround the entire encounter; however, despite the grand feasts and parties that took place, the visit also highlighted some of the key cultural and political differences between the two countries that will serve as contentious issues in the very near future as well as continue the wary divide that exist between them.
It is definitely a larger struggle for the U.S. to enjoy good diplomatic and economic relations with China among both the general public and expert arenas than to enjoy good relations with say a country like South Korea or even a relatively recent historical enemy in the form of Japan. Chief among the concerns that the U.S. has about China is the authoritarian nature of the current Chinese regime. It is relatively apparent that the Chinese government does not respect fundamental aspects of human rights that are central to our way of life. This is largely due to the fact that governmental power is completely concentrated in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, which has largely maintained its iron grip on power by controlling the media and preventing the existence of a free, unbiased press. This is why one legal case in the northern Chinese city of Baoding is very exciting to me because it represents the power of the internet to change the government’s ability to control the press and provide an opportunity for people to seize control of their own destinies.
The case goes as follows: a 23-year-old named Li Qiming killed a girl in a drunken hit-and-run. When he was detained, shouted out:“My daddy is Li Gang” (a local police chief). Now, this case is interesting for two reasons. First of all, it highlights a problem that exists in local, state, and even national level Chinese government: oftentimes, officials are corrupt and have large amounts of power to dictate the lives of the people around them.
For example, thirty, twenty, maybe even ten years ago, Li Gang (the drunk driver’s father) would have been able to use his position in order to ensure that his son got off with a relatively light sentence. In one of my own visits to China, I witnessed and even benefited from some of the abuses of power by local officials by getting free meals at fancy restaurants through family connections. The abuse of power by local officials is so endemic to the system, that to choose not to be involved in such a system can often leave one excluded from forms of career advancement. Power abuse has become the norm.
While it is hard to fix a problem that has become as institutionalized as this one, I believe that it could be done by creating larger exposure of the issue to ensure collective as well as personal accountability for corruption and abuse of power. This is where the case mentioned above gets really interesting. Instead of the official’s son getting off essentially scot free, the story (and catchphrase “my daddy is Li Gang”) was picked up by the internet and went viral on a variety of Chinese social network sites (government-sanctioned sites, of course). The internet community expressed outrage over the possibility that such a person could escape without punishment and created so much buzz that the national government was forced to step in, try to enact damage control, and promise that Li Qiming would face the full wrath of the justice system (Internet 1; Government 0).
In short, the potential abuse of power was nipped and exposed by the internet community before it even had the chance to manifest. This case has set a great historical precedent in terms of showing how powerful the internet is as a form social engine for change. With more than 420 million people in China now online, the internet is the Chinese people’s best hope for the systemic and fundamental change in government that is needed to address issues of human rights as corruption.
Photo Credit: China Hush