Guangdong will implement a property declaration system in three pilot areas, the provincial disciplinaryÂ
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authority said on Monday.
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Guangzhou's Nansha district, Hengqin new area in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone and Shixing countyÂ
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in Shaoguan have been selected for a pilot project asking officials to disclose their assets beginning afterÂ
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Spring Festival, according to Wang Xingning, deputy secretary of Guangdong Provincial PartyÂ
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Commission for Discipline Inspection.
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Lunar New Year falls on Feb 10 this year.
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"How the officials will report their assets and how many officials have to do so is still being studied,"Â
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Wang told reporters on Monday.
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"Government departments are busy studying details and introducing rules and regulations for the pilotÂ
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project, which is expected to play a big part in curbing corruption in the southern province," he said.
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Wang urged local anti-graft bodies and related departments to carefully study and introduce effective andÂ
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concrete anti-corruption measures suited to the conditions in their areas.
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Zheng Zhentao, a deputy to the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, said 526 deputies of townshipÂ
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level or above, and Party and government officials in Shiying will be asked to disclose their assets.
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"The assets that have to be disclosed include the officials' salaries, bonuses, subsidies, other legal income,Â
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houses, cars and investments," said Zheng, who is also Party chief of Shaoguan, which administers ShixingÂ
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county in northern Guangdong.
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"But the officials' data will initially be on the government intranet for internal enquiries," Zheng said inÂ
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Guangzhou during the annual session of Guangdong Provincial People's Congress on Sunday.
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Mei Heqing, a senior official from the Guangzhou Municipal Party Commission for Discipline Inspection,Â
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said major officials' assets will be made public and opinion will be sought when the pilot project isÂ
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introduced in Nansha district after Lunar New Year.
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"Putting information about government operations, and government and Party officials in the public domainÂ
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to make it more transparent will be an effective way to prevent and limit corruption," Mei said.
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According to Mei, the municipal government sent representatives to visit the bordering Hong Kong andÂ
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Macao special administrative regions this month to learn about their successful anti-graft experiences andÂ
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to expand cooperation in this field.
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Hengqin new area, adjacent to Macao, has also established a special anti-corruption office with officialsÂ
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and experts from the local Party commission of discipline inspection and the departments of supervision,Â
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public security, taxation, industry and commerce to help introduce the pilot project and fight corruption inÂ
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the following months.
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Many senior officials in Guangdong have favored disclosing assets.
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Chen Jianhua, mayor of Guangzhou, Xu Qin, mayor of Shenzhen, and Liu Yuelun, mayor of Foshan, haveÂ
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all expressed their willingness to disclose their assets if such a system is introduced.
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Xiao Bin, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, said introducing the pilot projectÂ
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demonstrates authorities' determination to establish a system to prevent and fight corruption.
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Guangdong's top anti-graft body investigated 38 corruption cases, involving 38 prefecture-level officials inÂ
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2012.
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Zhou Zhenhong, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee ofÂ
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the Communist Party of China, and head of the province's united front work department, was removedÂ
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from his posts for serious violations of Party discipline and State laws at the beginning of 2012.
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