英闻天下——399 Chinese Microblogs, Effective Means of Anticorruption

 　　China's growing number of microbloggers who expose power-abusing officials are becoming a force to be reckoned with. Public voices are getting louder in the age of the microblog.

 

　　Independent journalist Ji Xuguang is credited with bringing down Lei Zhengfu, a former official in a district in the southwestern city of Chongqing, in a high-profile scandal in 2012.

 

　　Ji said corrupt¹ officials never saw grassroots journalism² as a huge threat, but the development of the internet and social networking have been making a difference.

 

　　"Instead of petitioning the disciplinary authorities or writing a report for the Southern Metropolis³ Daily where I worked, I chose Weibo, for its transparency and speed."

 

　　Gao Bo, deputy secretary-general of China Anti-Corruption⁴ Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has also noticed this new trend.

 

　　"Working as an official is becoming tougher and tougher. The internet helps make ordinary people's voices heard in the anticorruption campaign and makes supervision⁵ easier and more cost-effective."

 

　　Officials now face a greater level of scrutiny⁶ in the age of the microblog, and the internet is becoming an effective means to criticize abuses of power by officials. But the country's lawmakers say it will eventually come down to needing a sound judicial⁷ system to prevent and curb⁸ corruption in the long run.

 

　　Ma Huaide, vice⁹ president of the China University of Political Science and Law, says the prominence¹⁰ of Weibo could also highlight inadequacies in anticorruption mechanisms¹¹.

 

　　"For example, there have been loopholes in enforcing the law, and a lack of supervision of law-enforcement institutions. Meanwhile, even though we've set up a number of laws to ensure clean governance, the regulations are not complete."

 

　　Chen Jianguo, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, says the country's anticorruption law needs to be amended¹². Chen believes local anticorruption officials often have independent investigative power, but are prone¹³ to interference. He also believes the punishment rate is too low.

 

　　"I think we should extend the range of punishments, especially among government officials. Instead of giving warnings or using administrative¹⁴ regulations to curb their misdeeds, I suggest they be subject to the rule of law."

 

　　The latest figures from the Supreme¹⁵ People's Court indicate that more than 140,000 people have been punished in China over the past five years for abuse of power.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Wang Xiao.

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

3 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

6 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

7 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

8 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

11 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

13 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

14 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。