Shanghai, China
China has punished more than 17,000 corrupt officials so far this year, chief prosecutor Jia Chunwang said this week. The crackdown began in 2003 and accelerated this year with the exposure of massive fraud in Shanghai, China’s largest city. More than 50 top Shanghai officials and businessmen have been arrested, including Zhang Rongkun, one of China’s richest men, and Chen Liangyu, head of Shanghai’s Communist Party. “If not controlled,” Jia said, “corruption will undermine democracy and the rule of law.” But democracy advocates say that China lacks a free press and open elections, two forces that can help expose corruption.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AIFeature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
-
George Foreman: The boxing champ who reinvented home grillsFeature He helped define boxing’s golden era
