Chapter 17 Chapter 15: What Are the Disadvantages of Officials' "Walking Points" in Shopping Malls?

"If an official participates in such commercial activities once or twice a week, and the small amount adds up, the monthly income is not a small amount." "I solemnly introduce to you the leaders who attended the meeting today..." A few days ago, at a new product conference held in Beijing by a foreign company, the organizer first introduced the guests according to the agenda, thus kicking off the conference. According to reports, three government officials were seated in the center of the front row of the podium, and the highest position was a deputy director of a certain ministry.These officials had serious expressions and sat upright. Only when they were introduced to themselves, they stood up and bowed slightly to the audience, with a reserved smile on their faces.

"Government officials attend the company's business activities, in fact, most of them have interests in it." Ms. Wang, who has worked in the company's public relations department for many years, told reporters privately, "Officials attend the company's new product launches, celebrations, exhibitions, and business meetings. , Ribbon-cutting, unveiling, debut ceremony and other commercial activities, generally there is an appearance fee, which is a 'hidden rule', or an open secret." The reporter's investigation found that it is relatively common for government officials to participate in commercial activities.Many experts interviewed believed that under the condition of market economy, officials “paid” to attend business activities of enterprises, which may not only disturb the market order, but also easily breed corruption. Officials should be completely prohibited from participating in the name of individuals or under the banner of the government without authorization. business activities of the enterprise.

In reality, singers, movie stars, and football stars are said to charge appearance fees, and the more famous they are, the higher the appearance fees.And there are many indications that there is another special group among the crowd who collect the appearance fee-government officials. According to reports, on March 31, 2004, when several key officials of the Shanyang County Party Committee and the county government cut the ribbon at the groundbreaking ceremony of a hydropower station, several red envelopes appeared under the colored silk.The person in charge of the project investor distributed these red envelopes to the ribbon-cutting officials in full view. Some officials put the money in their pockets directly, and some half-pushed, and the audience booed.The person in charge said that this is the "practice" of our company.

On November 19, 2004, the largest "secretary selling official case" in Sichuan Province was heard in the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court.The public prosecutor presented a series of evidence against the crime of Yang Yupei, former secretary of the Gaoping District Party Committee of Nanchong City, who committed a huge amount of property of unknown origin.But Yang Yupei said in court: "As a leader, I will pay (to me) every time I have a meeting, regardless of the size of the meeting. The money is not included in my account." This Yang Yupei may have lost his head, Eager to find out a reason, request that some money "earned from meetings" be deducted from "unknown property" and classified as "legal income" to mitigate the crime.The court naturally did not approve of Yang Yupei's statement.But to a certain extent, it exposed an unhealthy trend in officialdom-officials also have appearance fees.

On May 29, 2007, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court made a first-instance judgment on the case of Zheng Xiaoyu, the former director of the State Food and Drug Administration, and sentenced Zheng Xiaoyu to death for taking bribes.According to reports, Zheng Xiaoyu likes to participate in activities such as ribbon cutting and plaque unveiling invited by pharmaceutical companies across the country, and accepts high appearance fees every time.An enterprise in Shanxi Province once invited him to participate in the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony, and afterwards paid him as much as 200,000 yuan for his appearance.

How many officials "appeared" in various commercial activities?The reporter was unable to find an exact statistical data, but judging from media reports from all over the world, government officials can be frequently seen in many commercial activities. According to industry insiders, there are two main types of people invited by general enterprises to engage in commercial activities, one is celebrities and the other is government officials.When choosing one of the two, companies are more willing to invite government officials.Enterprises with connections invite serving officials, while enterprises lacking connections hire retired officials.Many companies also regard it as an honor to invite officials. If there are no officials to support them, companies will worry that they are not "regular" enough in the eyes of ordinary people, and they are also afraid that they will be looked down upon by their peers because they have no background.

"As long as the official agrees to attend, the appearance fee will be listed as a cost and included in the event funds. Depending on the official's department and level, the appearance fee varies greatly." Worked in a company in Beijing for many years A person in charge of the work told the reporter, "Of course, there are indeed officials who don't want a penny, but such a proportion is relatively small." "Appearance fees are generally given to officials privately, and a few of them are handed over by the official's secretary or driver in the name of red envelopes after the event. Moreover, the secretary and driver's share is also essential, but some are not banknotes, but other souvenirs Or shopping coupons, securities, etc.” For some detailed key links, the person in charge politely declined to make further disclosures, and only provided the reporter with an approximate figure for the appearance fee, “Generally speaking, it is 500 yuan, 1,000 yuan Or 2,000 yuan, the higher the level, the higher the appearance fee, the highest even reaching more than 10,000 yuan."

"It is more common for officials to attend business activities of enterprises, which is more common in places with less developed economies. In addition to getting a certain appearance fee from enterprises, some officials can also enjoy free food, drink, accommodation and entertainment provided by enterprises, and even reimbursed by enterprises Various expenses.” A friend who works in corporate publicity for a large enterprise in Hunan told the reporter, “Sometimes participating in ribbon-cutting activities may be more attractive to officials. The secret lies in the ribbon-cutting scissors—because some scissors are golden Scissors. After cutting the ribbon, the company usually asks officials to put it in their pockets as a souvenir, which becomes a disguised appearance fee."

"If an official participates in such commercial activities once or twice a week, he can accumulate more with less, and his monthly income is not a small amount." A secretary of the mayor of a prefecture-level city in Shanxi Province privately revealed to reporters, "Enterprises must invite The main leaders of the municipal party committee and the municipal government will attend the event, and the appearance fee will be at least 1,000, otherwise they will not be able to make a move.” Many interviewees believe that from the perspective of controlling the distribution of major social resources, companies need to “share” these resources through officials to create wealth.Under the conditions of a market economy, officials' "paid" attendance at business activities of enterprises is a market behavior, and the appearance of officials paints market behavior with the color of government behavior and invisibly serves as a "living advertisement" for enterprises.

Officials who "appear for a fee" also know it well, so when they attend commercial events, they try not to express their opinions as much as possible. Does not represent a department.In order to express "informality", when these officials attend the event, they basically wear casual clothes and rarely wear suits and leather shoes. This seems to be a "conventional" rule. Relevant experts interviewed believe that no matter whether the official attends as a party and government leader, or as a classmate or friend, an unavoidable basic fact is that the specific identity of an official, in the eyes of ordinary people, is to represent a certain level of party and government organs or departments , It is not a personal behavior, let alone a personal image.

"Officials' participation in business activities of enterprises is a hidden two-way choice. To put it bluntly, it is mutual use." Professor Zhang Ming from the Department of Political Science at Renmin University of China believed in an interview with reporters, "In contrast, in my country, the government The credit of government officials is relatively high. Once government officials participate in certain commercial activities, it will increase the credibility of the activity or the company. The company also knows that inviting officials to participate in activities is nothing more than using the official's special status to boost the company's reputation. Credibility and popularity of the product, and some government officials also get benefits in exchange.” The reporter heard a lot of reports that in the tacit two-way use of enterprises and officials, some enterprises are keen to have a relationship with officials, whether implicit or explicit, in order to increase their "status"; Impulsive for profit, they also flock to the business activities of certain companies. A friend who is the deputy magistrate of a certain county in Yunnan Province once told a reporter: “It is only natural for companies to give a red envelope or a certain appearance fee as a ‘hard work fee’ to attend such an event. Besides, the amount is not large. It’s nothing like taking bribes.” It is understood that there are not a few people who hold his view in the officialdom. "The profit-driven appearance fee is one of the reasons why officials are willing to be 'image ambassadors' for the company's commercial activities. Of course, the media hype also plays a role in fueling the officials' preference to attend commercial activities." A company in Beijing understands The inside staff said bluntly. Many experts interviewed believe that officials receive appearance fees for participating in commercial activities. This distorted official-business relationship inevitably comes at the expense of social openness, fairness, and justice. It not only destroys the "ecology" of the market, but also seriously damages the credibility of the government. . In people's minds, as long as officials attend the business activities of an enterprise, it will give a strong "hint" to the common people-the behavior of the enterprise represents the position and attitude of the government.For this reason, government officials will play the role of "babysitter" for some unscrupulous enterprises intentionally or unintentionally. "To promote economic development, what the government needs to do is to formulate the rules of the game, build a legal environment, and ensure that all economic activities are carried out within the framework of laws and regulations, rather than asking officials to be 'image ambassadors' for enterprises." Doctor of Nankai University Professor Qi Shanhong, a student tutor, said in an interview with reporters, "Officials should not provide implicit credit guarantees for any company, because any business operation has uncertain risks, and companies that invite officials to participate in their various business activities may also imply The misappropriation of the reputation of its government, therefore, there are potential risks for officials to participate in such activities. In addition, one of the core elements of the healthy development of a market economy is equal competition among business entities, and there is no distinction between officials and businessmen. is the most important cause of unequal competition." "Officials participate in commercial activities in their own names or under the banner of the government. Due to the dazzling halo, the appearance fees are more concealed and deceptive. It has become a new form of corruption." Qi Shanhong also believes, "Some Officials spend a lot of time attending commercial activities, which involves energy, wastes time, delays their work, and affects the image of the government. The relationship between participating in commercial activities and appearance fees has actually become a common practice in official circles in many places. And the unspoken rules of the market have become a source of 'grey income' for some corrupt officials, and of course it is also a breeding ground for corruption." "Government officials exercise national public power, so they have more social resources and social influence." Du Liyuan, a lawyer from Beijing Zhongsheng Law Firm, said in an interview with reporters, "According to the principle of consistent rights and obligations in law, government officials naturally There are more legal obligations in terms of duties, and social relations, life behaviors, personal hobbies, etc. related to social public interests cannot be regarded as personal behaviors. The crime of corruption and bribery in Chapter 8 of my country's "Criminal Law" also specifically targets state agencies Relevant prohibitive provisions have been made for such behaviors of staff members. For example, state staff who accept gifts in domestic official activities or foreign exchanges should hand them over to the official business instead of handing them in according to state regulations. If the amount is relatively large, they should be convicted of corruption. Punishment. It can be seen that the behavior of government officials has reached the statutory circumstances, not just violations of discipline, and they are likely to be held criminally responsible.” It is understood that in recent years, many places in my country have issued relevant regulations, restricting officials from receiving "appearance fees" when attending commercial activities. On July 30, 2004, the Henan Provincial Party Committee passed a decision that leaders of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government will no longer participate in celebrations such as ribbon cutting, foundation laying, and awards held by various places, departments, and enterprises and institutions in Henan.This is so far the first "red-headed document" by the party and government departments of our country to restrict officials from "walking around".Subsequently, Jiangsu, Yunnan, Sichuan, Haikou and other provinces and cities also issued similar regulations. However, some interviewees pointed out that these "red-headed documents" seldom use the word "prohibited" in their attitudes, and only say "not advocated" or "not allowed".Therefore, in many places, officials attending commercial activities of enterprises receive appearance fees. Although this is restricted to a certain extent, it still seems to be an acceptable social custom. "The market economy should make the government detached from specific economic behaviors. Officials consciously restrain their words and deeds will play a leading role in the return of government functions." Deputy Secretary-General of the Tenth Beijing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association Chairman Zeng Guangyu said in an interview with reporters, “From a fundamental point of view, the prohibition of officials attending commercial activities should be included in the legal track and the supervision of officials should be strengthened. The price of the 'black hat' can completely prevent this phenomenon from happening." "An important rule of the market economy is that officials must keep a distance from the market. Officialdom and the market are two different categories. Public power and the economy must maintain a distance. There is a strict legal barrier between officials and the market, and they cannot be overstepped. "Qi Shanhong pointed out, "Prohibiting officials from attending business activities of enterprises is an important means of maintaining fair competition in the market." "We should break the tradition of the government as the main driving force of the economy, and strictly regulate the offside behavior of government officials who step into the gray area and interfere with market order." Zhang Ming believes that "market problems must be solved by the market. Under the conditions of a market economy, If government officials often attend business activities of enterprises, it will disturb the market order. Except for public welfare activities, the government should issue rigid regulations to strictly prohibit officials from attending business activities of enterprises.” "Officials' attendance at business activities of enterprises should attract the attention of party and government agencies at all levels, and take practical measures to strengthen prevention." Du Liyuan suggested, "First of all, the attendance of officials should be strictly controlled. Government officials' attendance at business activities of enterprises should be strictly distinguished from business activities. The nature of business and public welfare, so that commercial nature is not involved, and public welfare is less involved. Secondly, the cadre management system should be improved. Although there are regulations on the personnel management of cadres in our country that prohibit accepting gifts, securities, etc., they are all general and vague. Like Singapore and other countries, set up very clear, strict, and operable control measures. Furthermore, improve laws and regulations. my country's existing two intra-party regulations have a general framework for cadre management, but they are different from the Criminal Law and the Civil Service Law. Therefore, it is necessary to complete and improve the laws and regulations as soon as possible to plug the loopholes in the legal system and party discipline regulations.” In addition, Du Liyuan also suggested: For some necessary public welfare activities, the officials attending must accept supervision unconditionally, and explain the situation to the main leaders of the party and government or make a brief record on the registration card for going out for future reference. Heavier penalties will be stored in personal files.