Ethical Cleansing

Sino-Indian Lapses

• Though China has one-party rule under the CPC and India has a multi-party democracy, corruption is rampant in both countries.
• The fight against corruption against senior leaders, key officials, dominate political
  discourse in both countries
• India and China have acted against corruption: imprisoning senior ministers, but people feel ‘big fishes’ are untouched
• Despite big economic growth India and China have a rising wealth gap between rich and poor; it can hit their future growth
• The world’s most populous nations have over 2.5 billion people, yet millions in both still survive on less than a dollar a day

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The political drama involving former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai and his wife Gu Kailai ended this week almost on the lines predicted by many of China’s critics. Charged with the murder of Neil Heywood, a British businessman, Gu was given a suspended murder sentence by a Chinese court. She had confessed to her crime, claiming Heywood threatened her son’s life. Her detractors say that it was the possibility of the British businessman spilling the beans on her secret bank accounts, where she has allegedly stashed away large sums of money, that led to his murder. Early this year, the high-profile Bo, who had ruffled the feathers of many of his party colleagues, had to go when Gu’s involvement in the murder became public.