CHINA / National |
China court plugs bribery loopholes(AP)Updated: 2007-07-09 19:39 China's top court closed loopholes for bribing officials, issuing rules to stem rampant graft that threatens to undermine social stability. The court and top prosecutor jointly issued the rules Sunday in an effort to "catch up with the tricks of wily, corrupt officials," the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The rules widen the definition of bribery to include money, gifts or favors given to the family members or proxies of officials, or to officials after they retire. Officials can be charged with graft even if they don't personally get a bribe, and the rules make it illegal to help officials covertly arrange bribes. The rules come a month after President Hu Jintao stressed again that China must urgently tackle corruption. To fight corruption in state media, the government posted on the Internet the names of all Chinese print and television journalists and listed the contact information for their organizations. Shady dealings by media employees using the names of their newspapers have "marred the reputation of Chinese media," Xinhua reported Sunday, announcing the list. Some reporters cut deals to write positive stories or suppress negative news in return for bribes or promises to buy advertising in their publications. |
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