"Retirement approaching 'escape' resignation" "Illegal employment in the company after retirement"... Some cadres are secretly scheming between politics and business to gain benefits
Dig deep into the corruption behind the "revolving door" of politics and business
Zeng Changhong, the former first-level inspector of the Investor Protection Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, who "resigned in an 'escape' style", tried to evade supervision and continued to make money arbitrarily, was expelled from the party; Xue Peiming, the former deputy mayor of the Qab municipal government, was expelled from the party... Recently, the discipline inspection and supervision organs have reported a number of typical cases, releasing a clear signal of digging into the corruption behind the "revolving door" of politics and business.
Leading cadres hold a certain amount of public power during their tenure, and even if they leave their posts, their original powers will still have an impact or play a role within a certain range and for a period of time.
Therefore, it is obviously inappropriate for leading cadres to resign or retire to work, part-time jobs, and receive remuneration in enterprises within their original business jurisdiction.
How to cut off the gray connection between politics and business, effectively prevent the transfer of interests, and prevent the "revolving door" of politics and business from becoming a "corruption door"?
The reporter conducted an interview report.
Some leading cadres have resigned and retired to work in enterprises within their original business jurisdiction, taking part-time jobs and taking advantage of the "revolving door" of politics and business
In July 2018, Qiu Ping, the former deputy inspector of the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau in Zhejiang Province, who had retired six years earlier, voluntarily asked to give up his retirement benefits.
Since no clues were received at that time, the organization processed the approval according to normal procedures.
Three years later, in the education and rectification of the national political and legal teams, clues to Qiu Ping's violation of discipline and law surfaced.
According to the case handlers, in fact, the Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China has established a system of resignation for civil servants, which stipulates that civil servants resign or retire from public office. Within three years, other civil servants shall not be employed by enterprises or other for-profit organizations directly related to their original work business, and shall not engage in for-profit activities directly related to their original work business within two years of their resignation.
The investigation found that since his retirement, Qiu Ping has successively accepted invitations from a Hangzhou Testing Technology Co., Ltd., a Zhejiang News Culture Group Co., Ltd., and a Hangzhou Internet Technology Co., Ltd. to serve as a security legal consultant, and received more than 3.2 million "consultant fees".
During this period, Qiu Ping helped the above-mentioned companies to expand their popularity by establishing the "Internet Security and Governance" forum, and actively offered advice and suggestions for their cyber risk prevention and control.
The investigation further found that Qiu Ping took advantage of his position to help the two companies in network security supervision during his tenure in the network supervision department of the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau, and agreed to receive benefits after retirement.
Obviously, Qiu Ping's early retirement was not on a whim.
Analysis of the case handlers: "Qiu Ping has accumulated a lot of contacts in the Internet business circle during his tenure. Some companies have extended 'olive branches', indicating that they can receive high salaries after early retirement. He also has close contacts with some companies, and there are some violations of discipline and law. , trying to evade discipline by retiring early and giving up retirement benefits.”
The review and investigation team finally used three criteria to clarify and define Qiu Ping's violations of discipline and law: first, he knew the management object during his tenure, and there were specific profit-making matters and agreements on the transfer of benefits. After early retirement, he obtained economic benefits from the original management object. Second, they are not familiar with the entrusting company during their employment, and have no specific profit-seeking matters. After early retirement, they accept the invitation to serve as a consultant to obtain benefits, and they define economic benefits before giving up their retirement benefits as a violation of discipline. Third, they give up their retirement benefits. The consulting income that meets the regulations obtained after the treatment is defined as normal labor income.
Qiu Ping is not the only one who has worked in the enterprises that he has "helped".
Luo Xusheng, former member of the party committee and general manager of Hangzhou Industrial Investment Group Co., Ltd., met a businessman Zhang in his early years, and Zhang kept in touch with him by inviting him to eat and sending consumption cards. In other respects, he sought benefits for Zhang's plan, and Zhang took the initiative to invite him to work in his company, and promised to give him "settlement allowance".
Luo Xusheng resigned from public office to take up a post in Zhang's company, and after deducting the handling fee, he actually received 2.61 million yuan in "house allowance".
Under the shock of high pressure, the corrupt behavior of some leading cadres with ulterior motives has become more and more secretive.
For the sake of "safety", some people transfer benefits to the outside world first during their tenure, but they are not in a hurry to realize the return, but wait until they resign and then take up positions in the former management service objects, and receive high salaries in a grand manner.
For example, Zhan Moumou, the former deputy director of the Urban and Rural Construction Environment and Resource Protection Working Committee of the Standing Committee of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress in Guangdong Province, took a high salary as an executive of a well-known real estate company less than two years after applying for early retirement.
There are also some people who "retire and never stop", using their past contacts to wander between politics and business, helping companies illegally obtain key resources.
For example, Guo Deqing, the former chairman of the Baiyin CPPCC in Gansu Province, served as a supervisor of a company after his retirement, and coordinated the relevant procedures for commercial projects for the company through the leading cadres of the Lanzhou Development and Reform Commission and the Land and Resources Bureau. more than twice as much.
The personnel exchanges between the government and businessmen should not involve the private use of public power and the exchange of power and money
Qianqiu foundation, talent-oriented.
Everyone has a way to grow up and stand out.
As a normal talent flow channel, the re-employment of public officials is understandable.
The same is true of public servants who retire in new positions and use their residual heat.
"Personnel exchanges between the public and private are conducive to promoting empathy among different groups of people, resulting in more cooperation and interaction, and jointly promoting social progress. However, an unhealthy political and business 'revolving door' will alienate into political and business collusion and power The 'gate to corruption' of money transactions. The key point is whether it involves the private use of public power and the transaction of power and money." said Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of the Research Center for Integrity Construction at Peking University.
In 2003, the 50-year-old Chen Jianshe learned that he would be transferred from the post of deputy mayor of Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province to the CPPCC. When his mentality was out of balance, he began to use his power to "pave the way" and decided to jointly establish a real estate company with businessman Sun Moumou. , and submitted an early retirement application.
Before retirement, his power "Yu Wen" achieved a huge exchange of benefits.
In the last month of his tenure as deputy mayor, Chen Jianshe solved two major problems for Sun Moumou Company: firstly, he coordinated the construction qualifications so that he could participate in the bidding of important projects; secondly, he moved and built a cultural protection project. , to ensure that the company's project planning is not affected.
"Without shares, I am a senior wage earner." For Chen Jianshe, who is determined to start a business, shares have a strong appeal.
In order to further form a community of interests, Sun Moumou gave Chen Jianshe a "discount" for half-price shares.
The court later found out that, from April 2003 to July 2004, Chen Jianshe took advantage of his position to seek benefits for others in matters such as construction qualification handling and project relocation, and illegally accepted a total of 6.25 million yuan of property from others.
In September 2019, Chen Jianshe was sentenced to 4 years in prison and fined 600,000 yuan for accepting bribes.
"The biggest problem is that it is easy to breed corruption, including a series of problems such as marketization of power, collusion between officials and businessmen, and transfer of interests." Zhuang Deshui told reporters that this kind of "revolving door" between politics and business will also damage the fairness of the market and disrupt the market order.
For example, it may lead to black-box operations in project bidding, and problems such as benefit transmission in the allocation of public resources.
"In this way, it will damage the party's image and the government's credibility, and it will do great harm."
Under the guise of "paying for a job", he deliberately postponed the time to receive property, and completed the transfer of benefits after resigning and retiring. "I think I lied to the sky, but in fact it is stealing the bell, and its essence is still the transaction of power and money." In the Disciplinary Committee of Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province According to Jiang Zhixuan, Deputy Director of the Case Trial Office of the Supervisory Commission, on the one hand, "receiving a salary" means not going to work but getting paid, or actually working but receiving a salary higher than normal, which belongs to accepting property in bribery; on the other hand , the public officials have used the convenience of their positions to seek benefits for the trustee, and agreed to bribes with the trustee, subjectively with obvious intention to accept bribes.
Jiang Zhixuan analyzed that the focus of investigating and handling such cases is to fix "pre-agreed" evidence.
The agreement between the two parties can be either express or implied, and can be expressed in words or actions.
No matter what method is adopted, as long as the two parties reach a tacit agreement before the resignation and retirement of the public official, and it is clear that the trustor will give feedback after resignation and retirement, it should be deemed that there is a "pre-agreement".
Numerous examples have repeatedly shown that as long as you stretch out your hands that shouldn't be extended, take money you shouldn't take, and do things you shouldn't do, whether you are in the front line or leave your post, you will not be "written off" or "forget it."
"Resigning or retiring does not mean entering a 'safe box', whether it is to 'fight the edge' during the term of office, or to 'step on the red line' after leaving office. Once the bottom line falls, no one can escape the sanctions of party discipline and state law." Zhuang Deshui said.
Improve the post-employment constraints of leading cadres after resignation or retirement, and effectively prevent the corruption of the political and business "revolving door"
"We have already made some regulations in the early stage. If you leave the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission directly, you definitely cannot take a post in an institution that has been regulated in the past or an institution closely related to this industry. There are also restrictions on the transition period of confidentiality and the period of decryption." On the eve of the National People's Congress this year, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said.
After party members and leading cadres resign or retire (retire), their original powers and powers will still have an impact or play a role within a certain scope and within a certain period of time.
Therefore, for them, they must not be left to their own devices, and they must not "just leave". Instead, the relevant regulations should be refined, and "hard bars" should be drawn for the scope of employment and employment time after resignation. Disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies, organizational departments, and auditing agencies We must also strictly control the "export customs" to prevent corruption in the "revolving door" of government and business.
The "Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China" stipulates that after resignation or retirement (retirement), party members and leading cadres "violate relevant regulations to accept the employment of enterprises and intermediaries within the jurisdiction and business scope of their original positions, or individuals to engage in positions that are different from their original positions. Jurisdiction over business-related profit-making activities” and “violating relevant regulations to serve as independent directors or independent supervisors of listed companies, fund management companies, etc.,” will be punished from warnings to party probation according to the severity of the circumstances.
In 2017, four departments including the Organization Department of the Central Committee issued the "Opinions on Regulating the Behavior of Civil Servants After Resigning from Public Office", which set a red line for civil servants to resign after resigning from public office. Civil servants who are members of the leadership team of the Central Plains Department of the agency and other civil servants holding positions at or above the county level shall not accept employment from enterprises, intermediaries or other for-profit organizations within the jurisdiction and business scope of their original positions within 3 years after their resignation. Not to engage in for-profit activities directly related to the business under the jurisdiction of the original position; other civil servants shall not accept the employment of enterprises, intermediaries or other for-profit organizations directly related to the original work within 2 years after resigning from public office, and individuals shall not engage in their original work. For-profit activities directly related to the business.
Strictly implementing relevant regulations and improving the post-employment constraints of leading cadres after resignation and retirement have become practices in many places.
In 2019, Guangzhou issued several regulations on the prevention of conflicts of interest of leading cadres, requiring that leading cadres who have resigned or retired to take up positions in enterprises or other for-profit organizations must be strictly controlled and checked. Approved strictly according to the cadre management authority.
In 2022, Hangzhou will formulate and promulgate the "Implementation Rules on Regulating Leading Cadres' Integrity in Political Practice and Further Promoting the Establishment of Pro-Qing Government-Business Relationships (Trial)", which clearly stipulates that leading cadres are strictly prohibited from resigning from public office or retiring from their original positions within a specified period of time. For personal interests, establish and improve the list of restrictions on the practice behavior of leading cadres after resigning from public office (retirement) and the reporting commitment system, and strengthen the guidance, supervision and inspection of the implementation of this regulation by each unit.
Cut off the gray connection between politics and business, and strictly prevent government and business collusion and transfer of interests
The key to regulating the relationship between government and business is to cut off the gray connection between the two parties.
To plug the loopholes in the "revolving door" of politics and business, leading cadres must keep in mind that "there are two ways to make money for officials", and do not mistake public power for private ability.
Experts suggest that the supervision and management of incumbents should focus on business-run enterprises, investment and equity participation, or business-run enterprises by spouses, children and relatives; the supervision and management of resigned and retired public officials, on the one hand, is the economic audit of leaving office, focusing on their Relevant issues and decision-making during their tenure, on the other hand, they should pay attention to the "freezing period" after their resignation and retirement, such as regularly reporting personal matters to the original department.
Strengthen the supervision of resigned or retired leading cadres.
Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province has tracked and cleaned up the practice behaviors of outgoing personnel, established a work account for outgoing cadres, and actively connected with functional departments to ensure the effectiveness of supervision.
Huangyan District, Taizhou City organized a "self-inspection + departmental joint investigation" to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the part-time (employment) situation of the party and government leading cadres in the enterprise, and urged relevant personnel to take the initiative to declare their part-time (employment) remuneration.
The District Commission for Discipline Inspection, the District Committee Organization Department, the District Federation of Industry and Commerce, the District Market Supervision Bureau, and the District Civil Affairs Bureau established a joint system to compare cross-departmental data on the positions of party and government cadres in enterprises, industry associations, chambers of commerce, and foundations. Each unit conducts a self-examination and comparison of the situation, and strictly investigates the behavior of concealment and non-reporting.
Focus on key areas and key links.
The case shows that state-owned enterprises, especially state-controlled enterprises, are important targets for some leading cadres to invest in shares and transfer benefits after they resign and retire.
The Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision of Jiaojiang District, Taizhou City focuses on local state-owned enterprises and state-owned holding enterprises, and conducts investigations jointly with the audit department, sorts out the equity structure, shareholder list and capital contribution of all investment projects of the company, and compares the company's annual salary payment and equity dividend personnel list with In the past three years, the list of resigned and retired party members and cadres has been compared with the data, and the problems of violation of regulations and disciplines such as sudden investment in shares and illegal re-employment of resigned retirees have been investigated.
Promote the streamlining of administration and decentralization, and avoid excessive concentration of power.
When most resources can be adjusted by the market, it means that the power in the hands of leading cadres is reduced, and the rent-seeking space generated by the "revolving door" is also reduced.
In response to the "option corruption" case of Bai Guanghua, the former director of the Municipal Civil Air Defense Office, the Chenzhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision urged the Municipal Civil Air Defense Office to carry out system rectification and promote the reform of "decentralization, management and service"; establish and improve the approval and supervision system, and sort out the list of powers and responsibilities of the civil air defense department. Improve the internal control and external supervision system of the civil air defense system, and cut off the path of option corruption and realization.
Increase policy transparency and prevent transfer of interests.
The key to the improper connection between the government and businessmen through the transition of positions lies in the lack of transparency of public policies and the lack of scientific and democratization of decision-making.
The Nanchang Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision of Jiangxi Province urges the deepening of the openness of government affairs, improves the transparency of major government investment projects, government procurement, industrial guidance fund allocation and other fields, and strengthens the restriction and supervision of the operation of power.
Actively promote the building of pro-Qing government-business relations.
The Disciplinary and Supervision Commission of Xiangyang City, Hubei Province issued a positive and negative list of political and business exchanges. The positive list encourages "clear" and "not far away", and sets the "range" of exchanges from 10 aspects. Sort out 10 prohibitive clauses related to corporate exchanges, and draw a clear line of "red lines" for political and business exchanges.
"Which are reasonable and normal resignation and retirement, and which are deliberately changing roles for a soft landing. To distinguish the difference, one depends on the reasons for the incident, and the other depends on the integrity of the in-service period." Zhuang Deshui believes, "We cannot wait for leading cadres to resign and retire. Later, we will analyze the risks of clean government, and we should strengthen supervision and management by improving the corresponding supporting mechanisms during their tenure."
Reporter Guan Xiaopu Han Yadong