How To Fix The Public Corruption Problem? Officials Should Just Keep A Low Profile

2009-12-04

From a Xinhua Op/Ed. I saw this a few days ago, but finally today it struck me what it reminded me of. Meet me below the excerpt.

The Internet has been lately abuzz with The 10 Commandments for Public Servants, coupled with real cases to illustrate each of the imperatives.

For example, the commandment "Don't smoke expensive cigarettes and wear a luxury watch" is illustrated by the case of Zhou Jiugen, the fallen housing chief of Jiangning district in Nanjing. And the commandment "Don't post a paper on the Internet" is represented by 29-year-old Zhou Senfeng, the youngest mayor in China, who has been accused of academic plagiarism. The commandment "Don't drive a luxury car" refers to the case of a chief prosecutor in Inner Mongolia. She became a public figure after Internet surfers circulated the photo of her Touareg SUV.

Other commandments include "Don't let others hold an umbrella for you", "Don't gawk at hot babes", and "Don't arrest Internet vigilantes."

Obviously, these are sarcasms intended to remind public servants they should be careful about what they do and say, and fulfill their responsibilities.

The main message of all this: keep a low profile. It's all about appearances, and with the Internet these days, if you flash your cash out there, someone will find out and embarrass you.

Whether it's right or wrong to take the money in the first place? Kind of a secondary issue.

Well, this is straight out of Goodfellas. If you recall the movie, this group of mafia guys steals millions in cash from the Lufthansa cargo terminal at JFK airport in New York.

The thieves know that there will be a lot of heat from the cops, so the ones in charge of the job make it very clear to the rest of the guys on the team that they are not allowed, under any circumstances, to spend money in such a way that will attract attention.

After the job is over, they congregate at a local bar. You can guess the rest, if you haven't already seen the movie. The dialogue could have been written with these government officials in mind. De Niro's Jimmy Conway character is the one doing the lecturing, and he's pissed off:

FAT LOUIS: Come here. I want to show you something, Jimmy.

(We see a huge pink Cadillac out on the street in front of the bar.)

Isn't she gorgeous? I bought it for my wife. It's a coupe. I love that car.

JIMMY: What did I tell you? I talked to you, didn't I? Didn't I say not to go buy anything for a while? You got a fucking car?

FAT LOUIS: It's a wedding gift from my mother. It's under her name. I just got married.

JIMMY: You're crazy. The bulls are across the street. They're watching everything we do.

(Henry Hill walks in the bar and Jimmy whispers to him)

JIMMY (cont.): That fat fuck ought to wear a sign.

(A smiling Angelo Sepe walks in the door, and we see that his wife is wearing a $30,000 sable coat.)

JIMMY (cont.): Jesus Christ! Are all you fucking nuts!

Tags: China Law