New | Communist Party should try imperial China's impeachment system to fight graft, says novelist

A popular historical writer has advised the Communist Party’s corruption watchdog to learn from ancient impeachment systems when carrying out its sweeping and daunting anti-graft crackdown.

Ling Jiefang, who goes by the pen name Er Yuehe, said the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) should learn from ancient Chinese dynasties how to set up an impeachment system.

“By adopting the system, it encourages officials to supervise and report each other on any misdeeds,” Ling told the Southern Metropolis Daily.

The writer cited the system of imperial censors, used by many ancient dynasties, as an effective approach to check and balance officials’ power to fight corruption.

Ling also opposed the approach of fostering honesty in the civil service by offering high salaries, so that they would be less likely to pocket funds illicitly.

Giving the Song dynasty (AD960-1279) as an example, he said bureacrats had relatively better income than their counterparts from other dynasties, but the administration remained highly corrupt at the time.