In the latest move to fight corruption and promote transparency, Heilongjiang Province is abolishing "anti-corruption savings accounts" where corrupt officials once could discretely deposit their bribes and save face.

Zhejiang Province also has adopted abolished the accounts, and the transparency move may spread.

The anti-corruption clarity move may spread to other provinces as China tightens the screws on corrupt officials.

The abolition of the accounts, like their creation in 2000, has generated national debate. Some say it helped corrupt people start with a clean slate.

So far, at least 10 million yuan (US$1.21 million) has been put into the deposits.

The anti-corruption saving accounts were created for officials to return and deposit anonymously the bribed money they received into the Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China.

Thus, the money was recovered, while the corrupt officials saved face.

The Heilongjiang provincial government put an end to the anti-corruption accounts on November 30 and ordered all the money and valuable articles accepted in bribes be handed in to discipline and supervision authorities within a prescribed time period.

Due to lack of supporting laws, however, these accounts have also shown loopholes. "That's why we called them off," said Guo Zhihui, head of the anti-corruption office of Heilongjiang provincial government.

The accounts, named "581 accounts" sometimes translated in Chinese as "I refuse it," were initiated by Ningbo City of the affluent eastern Zhejiang Province in 2000. Following Ningbo, a few provinces adopted similar measures to fight corruption.

Now, provinces including Heilongjiang and Zhejiang, have repealed the accounts, triggering debate.

"The account violates our law," said Qu Wenyong, a sociology professor at Heilongjiang University.

According to Chinese law, bribery and embezzlement can bring severe penalties. However, by depositing the bribes into the anonymous accounts, the officials were excused of punishment, Qu said.

"The account actually serves as a shelter for corruption," said Qu.

Furthermore, its establishment is not in line with China's depositing regulations, which demand the depositor give his or her real name.

In articles posted to the Northeast Web in Heilongjiang, Netizens said anti-corruption accounts made no sense since officials were required to reject bribes.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2005)