After the year of reform and opening-up in 1978, anti-corruption has been regarded as a very important issue in China. Over the past 40 years, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping all these four leaders in China have been struggling ov...
After the year of reform and opening-up in 1978, anti-corruption has been regarded as a very important issue in China. Over the past 40 years, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping all these four leaders in China have been struggling over anti-corruption. Especially after Xi Jinping came into power in 2012, strengthened anti-corruption campaign has gained much attention from all around the world. Numerous scholars began to analyze and research about Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. However, there are still two major limits in current academia. First, most of the scholars only gave a narrow view by focusing solely on institutionalization aspect. Second, they have only concentrated on Xi Jinping’s Era. For understanding China’s anti-corruption in an accurate manner, there is a need to analyze the anti-corruption policy of leaders who held on to power during and after the year of reform. In particular, analyzing the change of anti-corruption in three dimensions, mainly China’s anti-corruption principle, the strength of the punishment and the institutionalization aspect is necessary for understanding the flow of China’s overall anti-corruption policy. The thesis uses comparative analysis to compare the anti-corruption policy in Deng, Jiang, Hu and Xi Era and further looks at the succession and development in Xi’s Era. It has a profound academic value as it not only analyses Xi’s anti-corruption policy but also makes a comparison with previous leaders by looking at key aspects of China’s anti-corruption.
This thesis argues that, firstly, the increased number of punished officials, especially high-ranking officials during Xi’s era is the result of the strengthened Discipline Inspection System and Structural Reform in Discipline Inspection Committee. Secondly, this anti-corruption achievement is not a result made in short period, but the result made by the succession and development from Deng, Jiang, Hu’s Era. Deng’s modernization construction, Jiang’s basic work clearance as well as Hu’s beginning of the institutionalization have made up the foundation for Xi’s strengthened anti-corruption campaign. Lastly, the direction of China’s anti-corruption policy has been changed since its reform. In case of Deng and Jiang, China had focused on the clearance of corrupt activities, that is, the substantial problem; on the other hand, when it comes to Hu and Xi’s Era, China has not only focused on substantial issue, but rather more on the fundamental issue, which is in fact the establishment of the institution. It predicts that China will further focus on the institutionalization for China’s anti-corruption rather than merely solving the substantial problems. However, still, Xi Jinping’s over-dependence on the intra-party institution will restrict the power of judicial authority, and how China solves this problem is still needs to be seen.