Creative publicity boosts China's anti-corruption fight

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A TV documentary jointly produced by China Central Television (CCTV) and the Communist Party of China's (CPC) top anti-corruption watchdog made headlines during the first week of the new year.

The three-episode TV series, which features interviews with guilty officials from discipline inspection authorities, aired at 8:00 pm on the state broadcaster's Channel One from Tuesday to Thursday, just ahead of the seventh plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which opened on Friday.

Yuan Weihua, former disciplinary prosecutor, confesses on TV to having sold intelligence.

The title of the documentary, "To forge an iron, one must be strong oneself," is a quote from a speech by President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, in late 2012. It was not the CCDI's first TV documentary. A previous one featuring 77 cases of fallen senior officials was aired before the opening of the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in October 2016.

CFP Photo

Screenshots and video footage of the documentary have flooded social media. WeChat user "xiaotaiyang" posted: "I was shocked that corruption existed within the CCDI."

Experts said the documentaries are going viral because they reveal the details and stories behind China's latest anti-corruption drive.

Screenshot of the documentary aired on CCTV 1‍.

"The CCDI has regularly revealed corruption cases on weekends or holidays, but it was very rare for the CCDI to make a documentary for publicity," said Xie Chuntao, director of the Dean's Office of the CPC Central Committee Party School. He was impressed by the remorse the corrupt officials showed on camera, with some even breaking into tears.

The once mysterious CCDI has taken other creative measures over the past four years to engage the public, such as revealing cases on its official website, WeChat account and mobile app.

Wang Qishan, Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. /CFP Photo

On the last day of 2016, cellphone users received notifications from the CCDI website saying that the former vice minister of state security had been expelled from the CPC due to "serious disciplinary violations."

The top disciplinary agency has also allowed people to file reports via these platforms about undesirable work styles or officials suspected of wrongdoing.

(Story from China Daily)