Party backs demand for officials to show assets

An influential Communist Party newspaper has backed growing public calls for officials to publicly declare their personal assets, the South China Morning Post reported. The Study Times, a weekly published by the Central Party School, which trains the country’s political elite, said yesterday that making officials declare their assets is crucial to the success of systematic efforts to curb corruption. The report said that the declarations should begin with all senior officials at provincial level or above or among officials who handled economic affairs, then expanded down through the ranks. Premier Wen Jiabao promised the public this month to make government affairs more transparent and to make officials’ assets public. Since then, several civil servants have declared their assets online. However, some analysts questioned whether limiting the requirement to a relatively small group of elite officials will be effective. "Corruption happens at every level and in every department, not just economic-related ones," said Wang Xixin, professor of public affairs at Peking University.