BEIJING (Reuters) - The survival of China's ruling Communist Party rests on its ability to curb corruption, the government warned in a plan released on Monday that outlines the need to clean up sectors from land use to fiscal transfers.
The 2008-2012 anti-corruption plan says the situation inChina is "grim and the tasks arduous" and in a departure fromthe Party's usual style, called for more public hearings andprofessional consultation to improve transparency.
"Resolutely punishing and effectively preventing corruptionrelates to whether the people support you or not and to theParty's life-and-death survival," said the report, published onthe government's website (www.gov.cn).
Widespread graft in China is a major cause of publicresentment and social unrest that the Party is at pains tocurb, and has been blamed for a variety of the country's ills,such as poor enforcement of food and product standards andworkplace safety regulations.
The Party has initiated several clean-up campaigns and inhis annual state-of-the-nation report Premier Wen Jiabaostressed the need to curb graft. But with no meaningful checkson power, the country has had only limited success.
The report touches on various elements of the financialsector, calling for deepening reform of budget management andstandardizing the system of fiscal transfers.
It also orders state-owned companies to create "legal,clean and democratic management" and says the heads of suchenterprises must curb "wasteful spending" of government money.
The system of "internal Party supervision" should beperfected, the report said.
China's auditor has previously named several ministries forfaking spending items to swindle funds, including its topeconomic planner, the National Development and ReformCommission, which it said transferred government funds foroutside investment.
And the plan devoted several items to cleaning up thesystem governing land use, a sector of key importance as ruralland is swallowed up for development and as lines blur betweencollective, state and private ownership.
The system of imposing levies on land use should bestandardized and methods of giving compensation for land andresettlement perfected, the report said.
Earlier this month, China's audit office said citygovernments kept more than 70 percent of revenues from landsales off their books.
Those found guilty of corruption should be punished and nosuch behaviour should be condoned, the report advised.
In an accompanying commentary, the Communist Partymouthpiece, the People's Daily, lauded the government'sefforts.
"In recent years, we have made visible results in the fightagainst corruption, but corruption is still very serious," itsaid. "Anti-corruption work should be held tightly in hand, andnot allowed the slightest relaxation."
(Reporting by Lindsay Beck, additional reporting by BeijingNewsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie)
