A letter has turned Lianjiang, a small county in east China's Fujian Province - unknown to most people - into the talk of the town nationwide.

Written by Lianjiang's local Party chief Huang Jingao and published in People's Daily's website on Wednesday, the missive seemed to have great magic power.

A personal account of his efforts to fight against corruption and the frustration he has suffered, the attention-grabbing document immediately stirred up a public outcry.

The most startling revelation is that the writer has been wearing a bullet-proof vest for six years after receiving numerous mailed or telephoned death threats due to his persistent pursuit of corruption cases.

Though fighting scandalous malfeasance has always been high on the government's agenda, the seemingly unabated run of corruption points to more work needed in this regard.

As disclosed in the letter, Huang is also chagrined at the fact that many Party or government anti-corruption bodies are not the allies in the war against this social cancer.

In many cases, corrupt officials collude with each other in an entangled network to fend off probes into their dirty dealings.

It is to some extent out of disappointment with some relevant anti-corruption agencies that made Huang write his letter to make public his difficulties, probably trying to attract attention from both the public and the nation's top leaders. He has exerted pressure and spurred action on the very government bodies he wants to implore to fight wrongdoing.

Still, Huang's resorting to the media shows his confidence in the power of public opinion.

The media have played an increasingly bigger role in checking and uncovering corruption, demonstrating that outside supervision is also conducive to the anti-corruption fight.

The fact his letter finally made its way to the People's Daily's website, considered one of the most authoritative websites, is a big endorsement for strengthening the media's role in this field.

However, while acknowledging its role in the war against corruption, the media should not stop working in many other aspects to improve the current system.

(China Daily August 13, 2004)