The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opens a website to allow people to tip off the CCDI to corruption and other disciplinary violations. [Photo/IC]

"So many officials are corrupt; why punish me?" That's a complaint commonly heard by the nation's top disciplinary watchdog. Rampant corruption is no excuse for forgiving any corrupt official, says China Disciplinary Watch, the official newspaper of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection:

It is a rather evil mentality to list other officials' corruption as excuse for one's own. When an official is found corrupt, he or she deserves punishment, which should never be made lighter just because other officials are also corrupt.

Worse, such a mentality is one of the causes why corruption has become so rampant and almost unstoppable over the years. When such a mentality spreads like an epidemic among officials, the political ecology becomes ruined and talking about self-discipline makes an official a laughing stock or excluded from the circle of influence.

Of course, a lack of strict implementation of discipline and the law also help corruption spread. This is a vicious circle: when too many officials become corrupt, the disciplinary watchdogs have a difficult task hunting them all, which in turn consolidates officials' belief that they are safe when everybody is corrupt. As a result, corruption has become a threat to both the Party and the government.

The ongoing anti-graft storm is aimed at changing this. That's no easy job, so disciplinary agencies at various levels are required not to slacken their efforts. They must strictly enforce the law and punish every official found corrupt.

Of course the officials can identify other officials that are corrupt, but that's no reason not to punish them for their own corruption. Only with firm determination and consistent efforts will corruption be halted and the political ecology be improved.