Abstract

According to a recent analysis by Transparency International (2014), a nonprofit organization based in Germany, China is among the most corrupt countries in the world. In 2013, China was scored 40 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (0 = high corruption and 100 = no corruption). The index ranked China 104th among 175 countries, a drop of 20 places from the previous year, and it is the single largest drop in terms of ranking of any country. China officially acknowledged that corruption has been so rampant that if not curbed immediately, it will ruin the state. The new Chinese leadership, which assumed power in November 2012, has made anticorruption a major priority. In a document prepared for the 18th Party Congress, the Central Commission of Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI), the Party’s top anti-graft agency in China, stated that punishing and preventing corruption is regarded as a serious political struggle for the sake of the party and the nation’s future.