Anti-corruption efforts focus more on work conduct issues

The trajectory of corruption often begins not with a grand heist, but with a simple dinner, according to the details of a case released on Sunday involving a former high-ranking official.

Tang Renjian, former minister of agriculture and rural affairs, admitted his corruption stemmed from ignoring the Communist Party of China Central Committee's eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct, according to a freshly aired anti-corruption documentary.

"My illegal acts began with dining violations," Tang said before the camera, stressing the need to "stay prudent from the start".

Coproduced by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the National Supervisory Commission and China Media Group, the four-episode series began airing on Sunday, one day before the opening of the fifth plenary session of the 20th CCDI in Beijing.

Previously vice-chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regional government and governor of Gansu province, Tang was probed in May 2024. The investigation revealed that his social circle, largely built around dining, tea and mahjong, later became the bribery channel, and what started as casual gatherings turned into "interest transfer" hubs.

Tang described a psychological shift where he grew accustomed to these luxuries, eventually viewing them as "natural and deserved". As his vigilance dropped, business owners exploited the situation to seek favors.

To avoid detection, he first wore masks and hats to hotel dinners, and then moved gatherings to private villas and apartments arranged by entrepreneurs.

He also colluded with Li Yong, a Beijing antique dealer, using his shops for "power-for-money" deals. Business owners seeking Tang's influence were instructed to purchase overpriced antiques consigned by Tang through Li, disguising bribes as legitimate transactions.

After becoming minister of agriculture and rural affairs, Tang created a WeChat group called "Happy Weekends" comprising his family members and business owners. He also had his son open an upscale restaurant near the ministry. The entrepreneurs funded group events by purchasing membership cards at the restaurant, with Tang organizing the events and the entrepreneurs covering the costs.

Starting in 2011, business owners took turns holding lavish birthday parties for him at luxury resorts across the country.

The documentary highlights how Tang's poor work conduct directly led to a distorted view of performance. Obsessed with "image projects" to improve his standing, he disregarded local realities in Gansu and insisted on launching chicken farming projects simultaneously in eight counties. Consequently, seven of the projects were suspended, leaving many completed facilities idle or underutilized.

Tang, a long-serving official in the agricultural sector, meddled in 37 projects, 27 of which were agricultural. His influence-peddling and frequent dining with subordinates fostered an unhealthy political ecosystem. Even on the eve of being placed under residential surveillance, Tang reportedly attended a late-night drinking session.

Expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office in November 2024, Tang was sentenced in September 2025 to death with a two-year reprieve, lifelong deprivation of political rights and confiscation of all property for accepting more than 268 million yuan ($38.4 million) in bribes.

The central discipline inspection and national supervision authorities noted that the interweaving of poor work conduct and corruption is a key issue in current efforts to improve Party conduct and combat corruption, urging the simultaneous investigation and rectification of both.

Governing efficiency hurt

Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of Peking University's Research Center of Public Policy, said that efforts to improve conduct and fight corruption were once fragmented. Conduct issues were considered "minor corruption", while anti-corruption efforts targeted "major corruption". The lack of synergy hurt governance efficiency.

"Many major corruption cases originate from minor misconduct, and rooting out major corruption requires addressing trivial issues first," he said.

Over the past year, authorities have piloted initiatives using big data to link work conduct and anti-corruption information channels, enabling cross-verification to cut the source link between unhealthy tendencies and corruption.

However, institutional development remains insufficient. Zhuang said strengthening the top-level design of the supervision system and integrating disciplinary, supervisory, inspection, financial and audit oversight to build a unified framework is imperative.

Ji Yaping, dean of the School of Administrative Law at Northwest University of Political Science and Law, noted that the core goal of simultaneous investigation and rectification is to eliminate the breeding ground for corruption at its source.

He said that unhealthy conduct induces corruption, and correcting such conduct is key to resolving corruption problems. Severe misconduct in cadre selection, for example, can breed cliques, sycophancy and even political fraudsters.

Only strict, transparent standards can eradicate this problem, he added.