Chinese Bribers Have It Easy
Those Who Lived To Bribe Today Will Live To Bribe Another Day
Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of China’s food and drug agency, was executed last month for accepting $850,000 in bribes from pharmaceutical companies trying to fast-track approvals. But if history is any judge, those who dished out the bribes and saw their companies profit handsomely will suffer a great deal less. Bribe-givers tend to get off relatively easy in China, according to legal experts, government statistics and media accounts.
This not only leaves them free to bribe another day, critics say, but also sends a signal that a little money can get you around even the toughest rules and regulations. “Those who give and take bribes should be punished equally,” said Ren Jianming, vice director of the Anti-Corruption and Governance Research Center at Beijing’s Tsinghua University. “I’ve repeatedly voiced my views on this, but realistically, little has changed.” China’s operating philosophy on bribery — that it’s better to give than to receive — is institutionalized in law and practice. Although the maximum penalty is death for those who pocket bribes of more than $13,400, the worst penalty most face is life imprisonment. The starting point is also different. Those who take bribes face criminal charges for taking a cent more than $665. Those who give bribes can hand out as much as $1,300 before facing prosecution. Bribers are rarely the object of corruption investigations and most are let off if they confess. No briber has ever gotten life imprisonment and even sentences of 10 years are rare.
