Governing through Corruption: The Symbolism of the Death Penalty for Chinese Corrupt Officials

藉貪腐統治：死刑對於中國貪污官員之象徵意義

2011年，中國在廢除經濟犯罪的死刑時，維持了貪污的死刑。雖然其動機並不明朗，但中國政府所釋放出來的訊息值得探究。死刑執行本身需要符合法律要件，但從公眾的角度，對死刑的瞭解並不是透過法律，而是透過國家所控制的媒體。對此，中國媒體所釋放出來的訊息，以及媒體如何解釋符合法律的要件，對研究者至關重要。如果訴說犯罪的控制是根基於對犯罪的恐懼，那麼中國媒體要怎麼從貪污裡面找出犯罪的恐懼，進而達到其治理的目的？本研究分析了328篇中國媒體對貪污死刑的報導，指出中國傳統價值以及儒教在譴責的語言當中扮演了重要的角色。貪污犯的不道德形象成就了法律上違法的定義，並讓不道德在特定脈絡下升級成違法形象。1978年後中國資本家與勞工之間的矛盾加上共產主義的訴求提供了此種論述的土壤，而中國政府與媒體在這樣的土壤中選擇了符合傳統形象的符碼，進而達到本文所謂的「以懲罰貪污作為一種治理方式」。

In a 2011 debate, the Chinese government decided to maintain the death penalty for corruption while eliminating it for other more serious crimes. While the motivation behind use of the death penalty in regard to corruption has not been fully explored, it is crucial to explore the messages of the Chinese government. Although executions are expressed in legal terms following the rule of law, the death penalty itself is understood by the public through the state-controlled media, and it is noteworthy how the Chinese state media interprets legal terms in plain language to construct the meaning of the death penalty. In other words, how does fear of crime exist if China is “governing through corruption”? A content analysis of 328 corruption media reports shows that the revival of traditional values under State Confucianism reveals the rationale for condemning corrupt officials to death. Parallels between media reports and legal elements suggest that the immorality of these officials, as portrayed by the media, forms the foundation of legal arguments for the death penalty, therefore representing a step from immorality to illegality. This paper suggests that the cultural image of the new capitalist class reflects the ways in which old communist values provided a basis for denouncing white-collar criminals when capitalism entered China in 1978; further, it suggests that the government establishes a culture of control by utilizing symbolic rhetoric in an attempt to tackle corruption by governing through corruption.