Chinese lawmaker proposes national anti-corruption day on Mao´s birthday

Source: Xinhua | 03-10-2009 08:13

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese lawmaker has proposed making the birthday of late Chairman Mao Zedong a national anti-corruption day to remind government officials to keep their hands clean.

The anti-corruption day should fall on each year's Dec. 26, Mao's birthday, as a constant reminder of the self-disciplined practice of Communist Party and government officials in Mao's era, said Wang Jianhua, Party secretary of Shaoxing University in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Mao, who was born on Dec. 26 in 1893, was one of the founders of the People's Republic of China. Among his most remembered quotations were his words to exhort officials to preserve the style of plain living and hard work.

The establishment of the day can also help sound an alarm for those who tend to attempt bribery during the New Year and Spring Festival periods, which closely follow Dec. 26 and often see a peak of offering and accepting bribes, said Wang, who is also a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislative body.

The proposal aims to better educate officials and improve their ability to resist such illegal acts, he said.

Some corrupt officials have "rendered a negative impact on the Party's career and prestige", said Wang, who told Xinhua there's still a long way to go in building a clean government.