Originally, Singapore adopted this measure and has made great achievements. Last year, Russia passed a bill on countering corruption, which aims at increasing governmental officials’ salary to combat corruption.

Likely, this topic has been discussed heatedly in China. In the past, some experts suggested that China should adopt this method to counter corruption. However, this measure was abandoned finally

In recent years, those governmental officials’ salaries have been raised sharply. What is more, they have their houses, cars and other subsidies. But corruption cases have emerged again and again. Almost all of the officials investigated and sentenced once raised their mistresses. Some of them even had several mistresses. Unfortunately, the data suggests that high salary and subsidies are useless to counter corruption.

The amount of salary (no matter how big it is) people who get it may think that is the number they should actually get, not to say some people always feel they are forever underpaid. If people are badly paid there is an added incentive to be involved in corruption. The opportunity to get some extra is always tempting, and this seems to have nothing to do with how much they get legally. Greed is never to be satisfied, and the more money people get the more money they will want. High salary only can make their appetite bigger and bigger. They never mind of getting more and more.  

Though corruption is a universal problem in all the nations, China should find its own ways to combat corruption instead of copying other nations’ patterns. Singapore has made great achievements by adopting this measure. However, no one can make sure it also takes effect in China.  

High salary cannot guarantee a clean government. Those officials who take bribes are not underpaid. In fact, they enjoy a much more comfortable life than the general public. It is obvious that they do not need to worry about their living. It is not a matter of money. Money is not a cure-all medicine. Even if they are highly paid, their insatiable lust for more material possessions can never be satisfied. The desire for more feeds upon itself. Their selfishness and greed are a bottomless hole. Actually, many corrupt officials just fall into the hole. The unchecked selfishness and greed cannot be cured.

 The important thing is to strengthen and improve the supervision system. And also due attention should be given to the education of these officials. Now that China has set up an anti-corruption bureau to deal with corruption problems, severe punishments and prevention are equally important. In most cases in China, those corrupt officials were punished too lightly. They will lose their party membership and be sentenced for several years’ imprisonment if they commit corruption. “Killing the chicken to frighten the monkey”, the government should punish some corrupted officials severely to warn others: if you take bribes, you will be punished like that!

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