R 140747Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7829
INFO AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMCONSUL CHENGDU 
AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 
AMCONSUL HONG KONG 
NSC WASHINGTON DC
AMEMBASSY SEOUL 
AMCONSUL SHENYANG 
AIT TAIPEI 1689
AMEMBASSY TOKYO 
AMCONSUL SHANGHAI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SHANGHAI 000168 
 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, INR AND DRL 
STATE FOR R - MARK DAVIDSON 
STATE FOR EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS 
STATE FOR IIP/EAP - ROBERT HOLDEN 
NSC FOR LOI, KUCHTA-HELBLING 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  4/14/2034 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM TINT SOCI ETTC EFIN CH
SUBJECT: GRAB THE TIGER BY THE TAIL: ONLINE REPORTS OF CORRUPTION ON 
THE RISE IN EAST CHINA 
 
REF: A. (A) 08 SHANGHAI 505 
     ¶B. (B) 06 SHANGHAI 6344 AND PREVIOUS 
     ¶C. (C) 08 SHANGHAI 494 
     ¶D. (D) 08 SHANGHAI 471 
     ¶E. (E) SHANGHAI 149 
     ¶F. (F) 08 SHANGHAI 540 
     ¶G. (G) 08 SHANGHAI 527 
     ¶H. (H) 08 BEIJING 4522 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: CHRISTOPHER BEEDE, POL/ECON CHIEF, U.S. CONSULATE 
SHANGHAI, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Online reports of corruption in East China 
appear to have increased over the past year.  In particular, 
"Human Flesh Search Engines," where netizens post derogatory 
information about local government officials, are attracting 
greater public attention in East China.  While East China 
netizens continue to post reports detailing the corrupt 
practices of local officials, our contacts said, online 
criticism of the Central Government remains strictly controlled. 
 East China officials, including Shanghai's Party Secretary, 
also co-opt the internet through webchats or by posting letters 
online to shape public opinion.  Several contacts expressed 
concern that a lack of rule of law in East China provides 
average citizens with few options to vent their frustrations, 
leaving posting blogs about corruption as their only viable 
alternative.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) An analysis of online media reports and blogs on 
corruption cases involving officials in Shanghai's Consular 
District (which includes Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui Provinces) 
provides anecdotal evidence that the number of reported cases in 
East China is increasing.  (Note: A partial list of recent East 
China cases is included in the appendix in para 15 below.  End 
Note.)  Discussions with Shanghai-based political reformers, 
legal scholars, and internet experts underscored the growing 
significance of the internet as a tool to combat corruption in 
East China. 
 
East China Netizens Reporting on Corrupt "Tigers" 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶3. (C) Consulate contacts claim that the internet is making an 
increasingly significant contribution to the development of 
civil society in East China.  Wang Xiaoyu, a Charter 08 
signatory and a professor at Tongji University, told PolOff and 
ConOff on March 10 that netizens typically do not bother to post 
information online about the petty corruption of low-level 
officials but choose to "go after" local government officials 
who are considered "big fish," or, as Wang described, "tigers." 
For example, netizens posted blogs (later reported in the 
mainstream media) of one "tiger," Xin Weiming, the Vice Governor 
of Shanghai's Luwan District, who mysteriously disappeared while 
on a government-sponsored trip to Paris in October 2008 (Ref A). 
 In many cases, Wang said, it is less likely for an individual 
to report local officials at home since they have to "live with 
that official."  Wang added that it is impossible to know the 
origin of online reports or how netizens obtain their 
information, but many reports could stem from internal 
whistleblowers.  China has few whistleblower protections, Wang 
said, so the only alternative is to report malfeasance online. 
 
 
¶4. (C) In Shanghai, where corruption remains a sensitive issue 
in the aftermath of the 2006 Shanghai Party Secretary Chen 
Liangyu scandal (Ref B), our interlocutors asserted there are 
fewer publicly reported corruption cases -- both online and in 
the traditional media -- than in other parts of East China.  For 
example, Professor Zhu Xueqin, Dean of the Peace and Development 
Institute at Shanghai University, said that there has been 
greater online reporting of corruption in East China over the 
past six months, but relatively speaking, there are noticeably 
fewer cases in Shanghai.  He pointed to an early March 2009 
report on the murder of Li Mingyun, former Party Secretary of 
Qingpu Industrial Park, stating that the case was reported by 
the media in a "skillful" way to imply corruption without 
directly saying as much (septel to follow). 
 
Human Flesh Search Engines in East China 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) "Human Flesh Search Engines," where netizens post 
derogatory and often unsubstantiated information about local 
government officials caught in embarrassing situations, appear 
to be attracting greater public attention in East China.  Hou 
Fang of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) said the 
popularity of "Human Flesh Search Engines" is further proof that 
there is a widespread perception that the Central Discipline 
Inspection Committee (CDIC) is able to investigate only a few 
cases, and those cases involving well-connected officials will 
not be taken seriously.  Official CDIC investigations lack 
transparency because they do not release details to the public 
until the investigation is completed, Hou said.  At the same 
time, however, many East China observers are uncomfortable with 
"Human Flesh Search Engines," saying they break the spirit of 
the law, presume guilt, and lack privacy protections.  According 
to Hou, the only path forward is to develop and reform official 
reporting methods so that corruption is investigated in a 
transparent manner.  A journalism professor at the Central Party 
School's China Executive Leadership Academy on Pudong (CELAP) 
recently said that many local government officials see the 
benefits of exposing graft online through "Human Flesh Search 
Engines," but they are concerned about creating a "mob 
mentality." 
 
¶6. (C) Shanghai University's Zhu Xueqin stated that the negative 
side of the "Human Flesh Search Engines" reminds him of the 
Cultural Revolution; the "online mob" can say anything it wants 
and "use words like pitchforks" without solid evidence.  Wang 
Xiaoyu pointed out that the trend has attracted attention in the 
mainstream media, and the Xinhua News Agency recently reported 
that the new practice may leave local government officials 
"before a kangaroo court of angry netizens."  China's Supreme 
People's Court, which has sought to "limit the ability of 
netizens to act as an online mob," also is paying attention. 
"Human Flesh Search Engines" remain popular, however, because 
they "give people a voice," Zhu Xueqin said.  In one high 
profile case of netizen outrage leading to the sacking of an 
East China official, Wang Xiaoyu cited Zhou Jiugeng, a former 
real estate bureau official in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, who 
was pilloried online after a blogger posted a photo of Zhou 
wearing what appeared to be a USD 14,000 Vacheron Constantin 
watch and smoking USD 25 per pack cigarettes.  Another example 
was that of Wei Juntu, Party Secretary and Director General of 
the Auditing Bureau in Dongyang Municipality, Zhejiang Province, 
who submitted four bills totaling USD 1,042 for massage services 
in 2003, and those bills were recently posted on Tianyu.cn, one 
of China's most popular bulletin boards.  Both Zhou and Wei were 
removed from their posts. 
 
East China Views on Internet Censorship 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) While East China netizens continue to post reports 
detailing the corrupt practices of local officials, our contacts 
said, online criticism of the Central Government remains 
strictly controlled.  Zhu Xueqin used a cat-and-mouse analogy to 
describe government efforts to censor the internet.  He stated 
that in the late 1990s, the "cat" (Central Government) was 
asleep, and the "mice" could run around without much 
interference; however, at the start of this decade, "the cat 
woke up."   Zhu believes the Central Government will be able to 
strengthen its control over the internet despite the increasing 
number of netizens.  According to Zhu, the Central Government 
has the funding and technical capacity to exercise control, and 
the Communist Party's leadership is not willing to relinquish 
this power as long as it remains insecure about its ability to 
retain political power.  Wang Xiaoyu agreed, stating that East 
China netizens must deal with the fact that the level and 
sophistication of internet censorship is likely to grow. 
 
¶8. (C) Hou Fang at SASS stated that while the Central Government 
is particularly concerned about cases involving Central 
Government officials (such postings are usually removed 
immediately), reports of corrupt local officials are often 
allowed to remain.  He notes that these blog postings are used 
by government officials to collect information and evidence on 
corruption cases.  During a March 19-20 visit to Shanghai, 
Rebecca MacKinnon, former CNN Bureau Chief in Beijing and 
currently a journalism professor at Hong Kong University, stated 
that from the Central Government's perspective, allowing 
citizens in East China and other parts of the country to post 
blogs about corruption also serves the Central Government's 
anti-corruption objectives, putting "the fear of God into local 
cadres," demonstrating to local officials that they are being 
watched. 
 
The Internet and Public Opinion 
------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Local government officials in East China also co-opt the 
internet through webchats or by posting letters in order to 
shape public opinion.  Xie Youping, a law professor at Fudan 
University, observed that the internet has allowed netizens to 
express their opinions, which has had a positive impact on 
governance in East China, as local officials increasingly are 
also using the internet to gauge public opinion.  Like 
MacKinnon, he stated that many local government officials 
believe online reports of corruption help the government's 
anti-corruption efforts, for which the officials in charge can 
take credit during the Central Government's annual March plenary 
legislative session in Beijing.  With newspapers too controlled 
for "democratic" expression, Xie said, the internet helps fill 
the void in East China. 
 
¶10. (C) Officials in Shanghai have followed Premier Wen Jiabao's 
lead, frequently "appearing" for online webchats.  Shanghai 
Municipal Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng participated in one 
well-publicized webchat on November 6, 2008 (Ref C).  Xie 
Youping also pointed to the case of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) 
system in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, to demonstrate the 
evolving way in which local government officials in East China 
use the internet.  In a posting on October 6, 2008, a netizen 
wrote that the Changzhou city government's purpose for building 
the BRT was for the mayor and other high-level officials to 
benefit from kickbacks.  On October 18, Changzhou Mayor Wang 
Weicheng responded to the blog by posting a letter, stating that 
the blogger showed "no moral character" and characterized the 
October 6 posting as "libel against me using rumors."  At the 
close of his three-page letter, the mayor wrote:  "You can 
express your views about the performances of the government and 
the mayor.  I can even understand and forgive the use of extreme 
language.  But you cannot make up rumors to libel people" (Ref 
D). 
 
¶11. (C) The Consul General discussed the BRT controversy with 
Changzhou public transit officials during a visit to the city on 
March 31 (Ref E).  Project consultant Xu Kangming, an American 
citizen, told the CG he believed the accusations of corruption, 
stemming from an alleged relationship between the mayor's wife 
and the owner of the bus company, were off-base.  Once 
allegations are made, however, it is difficult to assess the 
veracity of the claims.  Vice Mayor Han Jiayu told the CG that 
Changzhou's e-government initiatives receive much attention from 
the local government's leadership, and city leaders believe they 
can use the internet to refute allegations as Mayor Wang did 
during the BRT dust-up.  Xie Youping told CongenOffs that a 
whole new generation of officials is embracing the opportunity 
to communicate via the internet with citizens, as they realize 
it is critical to maintaining popular support for the Party -- 
especially in East China. 
 
The Bottom Line: Only Means to Vent Frustrations 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶12. (C) Several contacts expressed concern that a lack of rule 
of law in East China provides average citizens with few options 
to vent their frustrations, leaving posting blogs about 
corruption as their only viable alternative.  Hou Fang stated 
that currently there is a culture of unaccountability in China, 
as the law is not applied equally.  Officials who have extensive 
connections, who are adept at avoiding detection, or who take 
part in only "small-scale corrupt acts" have little to worry 
about in the current system, he said.  Hou believes that the 
foundation of corruption in China is structural, and that the 
largest source of corruption in China is that Municipal 
Governments have few methods to raise funds other than through 
land sales.  (Comment: Hou was very interested in learning how 
municipalities in the United States raise revenue.  End 
Comment.) 
 
¶13. (C) Another legal reform that has proven difficult to 
implement due to significant resistance among Party officials, 
is the proposal that all high-level officials must publicly 
document and report their family assets.  Hou states that there 
is a heated debate in the Party over the efficacy of such 
reporting, and significant concern about reporting the assets of 
family members and the privacy of this data.  According to an 
April 9 report in Caijing magazine, the Shanghai Disciplinary 
Inspection Commission and Organization Department of the CPC 
Shanghai Standing Committee already have launched a program to 
require more than 2000 deputy bureau director and higher level 
officials to report their housing assets. 
 
¶14. (C) Frank Peng, Director of the World Bank Studies Center at 
Tongji University, told PolOff on April 13 that there is little 
information on how the asset reporting initiative will move 
forward, however, and he doubts the program will amount to much 
more than window dressing.  Xie Youping added that until taxes, 
salaries, and local government subsidies are more transparent, 
such efforts will inevitably fail, stating that citizens do not 
currently have access to dependable local or provincial budget 
information, so reliable asset reporting is probably a long ways 
off. 
 
Appendix: Online Reports of Corruption in East China 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶15. (C) In the period since mid-2008, there appears to have been 
an increase in the number of online reports -- from both blogs 
and traditional media -- of corruption involving local 
government officials in East China.  A sampling of cases 
includes: 
 
--Implicating several high-level officials in Wenzhou, Zhejiang 
Province with purchasing housing at below market prices, a 
four-page document entitled, "name list of external buyers of 
extra relocation housing at a temporary price" was posted on 
sohu.com and sina.com sites on March 23, 2009 and then widely 
distributed by netizens.  The list of officials included: 
Wenzhou Vice Mayor Chen Zuorong, the Vice Director of the 
Wenzhou Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative 
Conference (CPPCC), the Deputy Party Secretary of Wenzhou's 
Public Security Bureau, and the city's deputy chief prosecutor. 
 
--The Shanghai Daily reported in February 2009 that Dong Feng, 
former Party Secretary of a district in Jiangsu's Xuzhou City, 
and his mistress Chen Wen were found guilty of soliciting and 
accepting bribes worth US$412,269 on 44 occasions.  Dong was 
sentenced to 13 years in prison. 
 
--Zhou Jiugeng, head of a district real estate bureau in 
Nanjing, Jiangsu Province was dismissed from his job after 
netizens posted photos in December 2008 of Zhou smoking 
expensive cigarettes and wearing what appeared to be a US$14,000 
Vacheron Constantin watch.  Rumors also circulated in the 
blogosphere that Zhou drove a Cadillac.  Zhou was removed for 
"expressing inappropriate opinions and spending office funds on 
luxury cigarettes." 
 
--Sina.com reported in February 2009 that Kang Huijin, Vice 
Governor of Pudong District, was sentenced to life in prison for 
accepting bribes worth RMB 6 million (nearly USD 1 million) from 
1993 to 2007. Kang was also accused of possessing property worth 
RMB 11.84 Million, from unknown sources. Kang's wife received a 
five-year jail term for her involvement, and their assets were 
seized. 
 
--Local media reported in February 2009 that Wei Juntu, Party 
Secretary and Director General of Zhejiang Province's Dongyang 
City Auditing Bureau was removed for using public funds to pay 
for massage services.  He submitted four bills totaling US$1,042 
for services at a massage parlour in 2003, and these bills were 
first posted by a netizen on Tianya.cn on January 20. 
 
--According to a December 2008 Xinhua News report, Chen Shili, 
previously the top legislator in Huainan City, Anhui Province 
was convicted and sentenced to death for abuse of power after 
taking USD 875,000 in bribes from at least 7 companies from 1991 
to 2007.  When arrested in May 2008, he was the Chairman of the 
Huainan Municipal People's Congress. 
 
--Xin Weiming, Vice Governor of Shanghai's Luwan District, 
disappeared while on a government-sponsored trip to Paris in 
October 2008 (Ref A).  He has yet to be linked to any crime; 
however, online blogs are rife with speculation over his 
involvement in corruption.  Succumbing to public pressure, he 
resigned in December. 
 
--Yang Xianghong, an official in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, who 
overstayed a 12-day European tour in September 2008, was 
dismissed from office after two Wenzhou municipal government 
officials dispatched to find him in Paris were unable to 
persuade him to return. The Wenxhou municipal government also 
sent two officials to Paris in a futile attempt to persuade Yang 
to return (Ref F).  Hexun.com reported on April 1 that Yang's 
wife, You Jie, had been arrested for money laundering after it 
was revealed that she had wired RMB 20 million (USD 3 million) 
to her daughter in France one month before Yang's disappearance. 
 
--Xinhua News Agency reported on November 28, 2008 that official 
delegations from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province and Xinyu, Jiangxi 
Province allegedly traveled to the United States for purported 
official purposes but abused public funds by spending money on 
tourism in various destinations.  The report was based on an 
internet blog posted by an individual who claimed to have 
discovered documents that prove the delegations used public 
funds for personal travel to Las Vegas, Niagara Falls, and 
elsewhere.  The documents reportedly were found in a Shanghai 
subway stop, and the netizen posted copies of the documents on 
the internet (Ref F). 
 
 
CAMP