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.
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