Blacklisting of people involved in bribery is being used by prosecutors in some areas as part of the drive against corruption.

Convicted officials and business people, including those known to have fled overseas with their illegal gains, will be "named and shamed" alongside a public awareness initiative.

Wang Zhenchuan, deputy head of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), said on Thursday that they are piloting the scheme in five regions. If they prove successful, the measures could be rolled out across the country.

Local procuratorates have set up blacklists in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan, and in Chongqing Municipality and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

"Such measures are expected to discourage people intending to bribe officials," Wang said.

Procuratorates have also started raising awareness of the legal situation amongst officials and the business community with the aim of putting them on "high alert" against corruption.

"One businessman told me that talking to them today is much better than arresting him or his peers tomorrow," said Zhang Xuejun, chief prosecutor from Guangdong Province.

Zhang and his colleagues often give talks on the prevention of corruption to governmental bodies, institutions and companies.

"Leaders of various organizations have now come to realize that they should pay closer attention to prevention so as to eliminate corruption at source," he said.

"Most of them have had painful lessons in the past. They know how important it is to discourage misconduct because they have paid a heavy price before," Zhang said.

Prevention is key to establish an anti-corruption system in the country, said Wang Zhenchuan. "We should put education and supervision at the core of the anti-corruption system," he said at the second national conference on tackling corruption among government and business.

The meeting was called in the wake of discussion of the issue by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 10 days ago, which focused on the establishment of a nationwide anti-corruption mechanism.

Jia Chunwang, head of the SPP, said the initiatives demonstrated "the Party's strong resolution to crack down on job-related crime." He also urged prosecutors to keep a close eye on officials known to indulge in corruption.

(China Daily January 28, 2005)