Corrupt Chinese officials start to fear their mistresses
Staff Reporter 2012-11-30 14:37
The umbrella may not protect him if she decides to bring the storm. (Photo/CNS)
Lei Chengfu, the Communist Party secretary of Chongqing's Beibei district, was removed from his post earlier this month following confirmation that he was the man captured in a sex video released by microbloggers. Commenting on the expose, the media said Lei was only one of many corrupt officials who are known to have mistresses — who in many cases become the whistleblowers who bring about their downfall.
An online article published on Nov. 26 said that while it is good news whenever a corrupt official is dismissed, the public still remain helpless in the face of rampant graft in the system — and also that taking bribes is in most cases accompanied by marital infidelity. The nationalistic tabloid Global Times claims that about 99% of corrupt officials have at least one mistress.
In China's official circles, men are cynically said to be happiest when "getting a promotion, making a fortune and becoming a widower."
The newspaper said that more than 95% of the cases being handled by the party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection involved such "inappropriate" sexual relationships.
Zhang Erjiang, the former secretary of the city of Tianmen in Hubei province, reportedly had affairs with 107 women. When Xu Qiyao, the former chief of the Jiangsu provincial construction bureau, became caught up in a corruption scandal, he was also found to have had sexual relations with over 140 women, including a mother and her daughter, of which he particularly liked to boast.
Other officials who have publicly advocated anti-corruption campaigns have also been found to be privately involved in extramarital affairs.
Many officials have been brought down by the testimony of women with whom they were involved, who revealed evidence of their corruption, for a variety of reasons — fear for their own security or anger at their own treatment being just a couple.
The mistresses of corrupt officials have thus become viewed in many cases as a "ticking time bomb" for them, with a power over the officials that they can use for their own leverage.
But rather than count on mistresses ultimately becoming disgruntled enough to blow the lid on the officials' wrongdoing, the government should consider introducing a law forcing officials to declare their assets, Global Times suggested.
