Bribery and Corruption

Posted on 25 September 2009.

"I am on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Bribery of high officials is the only way to get anything done in this city. My promotion has been delayed 10 years because I would not give bribes," wrote Miss Li, a school teacher from Liaoning province (OMF).

When a website was set up for people to inform on corrupt officials earlier this year, it crashed shortly after launching because of the overwhelming number of visitors. It has been designed to cope with a maximum of 1,000 people making a complaint at one time, but the number of people using the site far exceeded this.

The month of August alone saw two business people executed for defrauding investors out of more than 850 million yuan (US$120 million) in a real estate scheme, the former head of Beijing airport found guilty and executed for bribery and embezzlement totalling nearly US$16 million, and six district police chiefs arrested on suspicion of protecting gangs involved in illegal casinos, loan sharking and extortion.

In 2008, China reportedly recovered 26.77 billion yuan (US$3.92 billion) of public money that had been embezzled. "Rising revenues in recent years and now the government's big stimulus plan have put growing sums of money within the reach of officials, and corruption is one of the top frustrations for ordinary citizens," reports the Reuters news agency.

Press through in prayer for real breakthrough in the fight against bribery and corruption in China.

Pray that the Lord would raise up police, judges and officials who are determined to stand firm against any form of corruption and to act justly in every situation.

Only the Holy Spirit can truly transform people's hearts and minds. Pray that He would be at work in China, bringing conviction of sin and a deep desire for permanent change.