The trial of three activists who had called for Chinese officials to report their wealth began yesterday in a court in Jiangxi Province, the first of several such trials for citizens who have urged greater transparency.
The cases show the limits of the Communist party’s tolerance of criticism amid an official campaign against corruption. China has rounded up a number of people who advocated greater transparency of officials’ assets, in what appears to be a broader crackdown on anyone who supports more openness. Other targets have included liberal academics and online commentators who have millions of followers and are known as “Big Vs”.
Party officials have often called corruption the greatest threat to Communist rule. But censors quickly cut off public discussion of the issue, particularly any suggestion that the problem was systemic and not about individual wrongdoing.