India was a most promising Asian country immediately after World War II. Apart from a democratic system inherited from the British colonial era, it also boasted a wealth of economic resources. In the eyes of Western countries, it had great development potential. Rampant corruption, however, slowed its development and led to its decline.
A similar phenomenon is now occurring in China as the country undergoes dramatic changes. The Cheng Kejie (成克杰) corruption scandal, which sent shockwaves throughout China, came to an end with Cheng's execution on Sept. 14. But discussion about corruption in China's local media has not stopped. The Cheng case triggered widespread concern because it involved the largest number of high-level cadres in the history of China. The investigation into the Cheng case was seen as a barometer for China's official crackdown on corruption. However, it was by no means special.
Before it, the case of Ting Yingyu (丁仰宇), an official from the Fujian provincial government who became a millionaire by buying and selling official positions, also attracted much attention. A total of 246 officials were implicated in that case, even though Ting himself was only a local official. It was an indication of the extent of corruption among Chinese local officialdom.
The local media seems to view the arrest of high-level officials as an indicator of the success of anti-corruption crackdowns. Even though grassroots discussions on corruption is relatively scarce, talk of an "age 39 phenomenon" (三十九歲現象) in Chinese politics is already emerging.
The "age 39 phenomenon" got its name from the discovery that a large proportion of the 246 officials implicated in the Cheng case were 39-year-olds. The "age 39 phenomenon" seems to offer a suggestion that corruption is evolving into a kind of collective behavior. The Chinese Communist Party has unwritten rules about promotions: Cadres over 35 will no longer be promoted to the township level; those over 40 will no longer be promoted to the provincial level. If you are not a provincial-level cadre by the age of 40, your career has basically reached its end. Under these circumstances, the idea of using one's current position to make a quick killing comes easily to the 39-year-old generation as they face their mid-life bottleneck.
Some observers view the "39 phenomenon" from the angle of changing values. The officials affected by the "age 39 phenomenon" were born in the late 1950s or early 1960s. They began rising to leadership positions in the early 1990s. Their's is called the "enjoyment generation" (享受的一代).
On the one hand, their careers coincided with a rejuvenation whereby China's leadership trumpeted young, intellectual cadres. Thus, they were propelled to high-level positions and came to possess substantial resources. However, the college days of the "age 39" generation also coincided with the beginning of economic reforms and the view that "enjoyment" is the purpose of life. Such values have had a negative impact.
More often than not, people's behavior is influenced by the rules of the system. The official culture produced by a system of seniority and lifetime tenures not only prevents efficiency of operation within organizations, but also creates closed factions where people can manipulate their personal and monetary connections. Zeng Qinghong (
Will China become another India? It will be worth watching to see.
Hsu Tung-ming is a freelance writer residing in Beijing.
Translated by Francis Huang
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