corruption in PLA

China's military isn't the only one suffering from corruption. Thomas Ricks new book The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today, in which he looks at why so many WWII era generals are held in high regard, in contrast to generals who commanded troops during later wars. But the more interesting part Ricks goes on about former senior officers leaving the service and going into the private sector more specifically the defense industry lobby and the potential malfeasance and impropriety.

[video]http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/309339-1[/video]

solarz said:

Power tends to corrupt: agreed.

Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely: disproven by history. Some of the most revered emperors in Chinese history: Han Wudi, Li Shiming, Zhu Yuanzhang, Kang Xi and Qian Long ruled with absolute power. Some of the darkest periods of Chinese history is when imperial power is divided between rival factions.

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Sure they didn't corrupt, because they owned China. They were the Son of Heaven.

advill said:

World history has proven that the corrupt "Imperial Powers" have fallen - Roman etc. etc. Did'nt the Chinese emperors fall? Were'nt they autocratic, despotic etc? Were they liked by the ordinary Chinese people? Pride will generally lead to a downfall whether leaders or countries (Western or Asian).

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That's an extremely simplistic view. The "Chinese emperors" did not fall, the Chinese feudal system did. You were talking about "absolute power corrupts absolutely", but that claim is disproven by the examples of benevolent emperors in Chinese history, all of whom ruled absolutely. The fact that the feudal system was eventually abolished does not mean those emperors were somehow corrupt!

deleted: misread quotes.

J-XX said:

The west has massive corruption which is why the west in general is in decline.
Western politicians can be bribed by wealthy individuals and corporations to carry out their agenda. These corporations and wealthy individuals give money to politicians so that they can win the election. Once the election is won, that politician works for the best interests of the people that gave him money to win the election. When this happens the politician is more worried about carrying out the agenda of the corporations so that he can get reelected. He is thus not willing to work for the best interests of the country but for the best interest of millionaires, billionaires and corporations.
Some countries call this lobbying, but 'lobbying' is a euphemism for bribery. Lobbying is legal in many western countries, which means its LEGALISED bribery.

Unless the west can sort out this bribery problem, western politicians will continue to work for the best interests of corporations and western economies and its people will continue to suffer. The actions of corporations are not usually in the best interest of the country as their primary goal is profit maximisation.
Trying to defend lobbying is the same as trying to defend bribery.

China has a big corruption problem, but so does the west. To say corruption only occurs in non-western countries is extremely silly. Corruption is part of every country.

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i have to disagree, while no country can get rid of corruption, the west such as US, german etc does have less corruption compare to developing country such as china, india. as far as campian tribute, there is a limit. and how many congressman, senator we heard that accumulate millions upon millions dollar during his/her seat. I think from PEW, china and india rank something in the 70's/80's, while west rank higher

here is something i just read today.




BEIJING — The call came late on Monday night.

"More than 70 police raided our (guest house)," said former policeman He Zuhua. "Police are everywhere."

His voice shook and he soon hung up, fearing that authorities would trace the call to the public telephone on the capital’s ragged outskirts. NBC News has been unable to reach him since.


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He says he and a handful of former police officers are being pursued and detained by authorities after traveling to the capital to help shine a light on corruption within their ranks. The officers have joined droves of unhappy citizens who annually converge on Beijing in the hopes of petitioning their leaders for help during the annual National People's Congress which started Monday. Each spring scores of petitioners are pulled from buses, trains, sidewalks, and simple hotels and locked up in secret locations, known as "black jails."