GOOD MORNING FROM LONDON
Yesterday I highlighted the corruption within the now displaced Afghanistan Government which re-directed US Aid Funds from the people into the pockets of Government employees. I concluded with a glance at China’s relentless campaign against corruption within the Communist Party + Government
Most UK first-year History students know the phrase attributed to Lord Acton “Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”. China sees matters differently and argues that “Power Can Corrupt and Absolute Power Can Corrupt Absolutely.” Xi Jinping made clear at the start of his Presidency that fighting corruption was his #1 priority. He knew that corruption within the Leadership lay behind the Tiananmen Square Protests in May 1989.
Yesterday – 23 August 2021 – the Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection warned Party officials in the West Lake City of Hangzhou to root out any “conflicts of interest” that they or their family members may have with local businesses. It followed the detention of the top Party official in Hangzhou – Zhou Jiangyong. The campaign will focus on links between Party officials and leading Technology Companies – Hangzhou being the Centre of the Technology Sector. Party Inspection will concentrate on Party Officials including those that have retired within the last 3 years.
Capitalism there may be in China in order to use Capitalists’ initiative + business acumen to bring about growth and prosperity. But Capitalism needs to be controlled – see the Party decision to halt the $37bn public offerings by Jack Ma and the Ant Group. Recently, President Xi Jinping has targeted “the reckless expansion of capital” with a specific focus on the market concentration of private-sector technology groups. His focus is on “excessively high incomes”.
Capitalism comes at a price. The challenge for the Party is to take the undoubted benefits of Capitalism without permitting Capitalist Ideology to infect the Party’s Socialist Goals.
