4 ms·

There is a saying that, in China, the top political career starts at 70. I don't think the age is the problem. It's corruption.

AndroTux 1y ago
Luckily there’s no corruption in China
- t-3 1y ago
  At least corruption is sometimes punished in China. The agriculture minister was just given what's essentially a life sentence for corruption.
  - jacquesm 1y ago
    Sometimes isn't good enough. That's just selective enforcement, which is arguably worse than no enforcement at all.
    - t-3 1y ago
      No law is enforced absolutely on every offender. That's impossible. Selective enforcement is a problem, but I would never say it's worse than no enforcement unless the law is bad in the first place.
      - jacquesm 1y ago
        It is when it is mostly used as a weapon rather than as a law. And China, unfortunately, has quite a lot of that.
        hermitcrab 1y ago
        “For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.”
  - ciupicri 1y ago
    Life sentence or death sentence? "China's former agriculture minister Tang Renjian sentenced to death with reprieve for bribery", https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-former-minister-agriculture-sentenced-death-with-reprieve-bribery-case-2025-09-28/ https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-former-minister-a...
    - t-3 1y ago
      From what I was reading, it sounded like the "with reprieve" essentially transforms the death sentence into a life sentence unless there's another crime committed. I may have misunderstood though.
      - ciupicri 1y ago
        Yeah, I think you're right according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_sentence_with_reprieve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_sentence_with_reprieve > Death sentence with reprieve is a criminal punishment found in chapter 5 (death penalty), sections 48, 50 and 51 of the criminal law of the People's Republic of China. It is a two-year suspended sentence where the execution is only carried out if the convicted commits further crimes during the suspension period. After the period the sentence is automatically reduced to life imprisonment, or to a fixed-term based on meritorious behavior. The reprieve is integrated into the sentence, unlike a pardon which occurs after the sentence.
        londons_explore 1y ago
        So during that 2 year period are you in prison? Pretty hard to commit many crimes from there... Or are you free, which seems a little odd...
      - smelendez 1y ago
        This was common in Victorian England as well, I believe. I remember reading about it in the context of consensual “sodomy.”
  - Eddy_Viscosity2 1y ago
    Even the punishing of corruption in China is corrupt. The corruption is baked into to every level. Such that if an upper power is unhappy with a lower level for whatever reason, they can just push the punish switch and have them done away with.
    - defrost 1y ago
      The US is rapidly catching up here; already in the US if a higher power wants a lesser figure punished they can simply order an indictment, should anyone be foolish enough to resist such an order for lack of evidence of any actual serious crime, they can be replaced immediately with someone willing to bend and break the law with a straight face.
- Woodi 1y ago
  That must be thanks to abundance of freedom. And somehow sentence from "The good, the bad and ugly" movie (state by Italy born actor) fit on that subject: "If you want freedom you become a priest or a bandit"... And remember to all the time stick a smile to your face and, internet even, conversations. That is sure fire way to have everything look positive.
tokioyoyo 1y ago
To be fair, corruption is also a problem in China. But still the consequences are much higher, if you think of province-level book-cooking and what happened to their leaders. The incentives for policy making are much different in both countries.

AndroTux 1y ago

Luckily there’s no corruption in China

t-3 1y ago
At least corruption is sometimes punished in China. The agriculture minister was just given what's essentially a life sentence for corruption.
- jacquesm 1y ago
  Sometimes isn't good enough. That's just selective enforcement, which is arguably worse than no enforcement at all.
  - t-3 1y ago
    No law is enforced absolutely on every offender. That's impossible. Selective enforcement is a problem, but I would never say it's worse than no enforcement unless the law is bad in the first place.
    - jacquesm 1y ago
      It is when it is mostly used as a weapon rather than as a law. And China, unfortunately, has quite a lot of that.
      - hermitcrab 1y ago
        “For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.”
- ciupicri 1y ago
  Life sentence or death sentence? "China's former agriculture minister Tang Renjian sentenced to death with reprieve for bribery", https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-former-minister-agriculture-sentenced-death-with-reprieve-bribery-case-2025-09-28/ https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-former-minister-a...
  - t-3 1y ago
    From what I was reading, it sounded like the "with reprieve" essentially transforms the death sentence into a life sentence unless there's another crime committed. I may have misunderstood though.
    - ciupicri 1y ago
      Yeah, I think you're right according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_sentence_with_reprieve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_sentence_with_reprieve > Death sentence with reprieve is a criminal punishment found in chapter 5 (death penalty), sections 48, 50 and 51 of the criminal law of the People's Republic of China. It is a two-year suspended sentence where the execution is only carried out if the convicted commits further crimes during the suspension period. After the period the sentence is automatically reduced to life imprisonment, or to a fixed-term based on meritorious behavior. The reprieve is integrated into the sentence, unlike a pardon which occurs after the sentence.
      - londons_explore 1y ago
        So during that 2 year period are you in prison? Pretty hard to commit many crimes from there... Or are you free, which seems a little odd...
    - smelendez 1y ago
      This was common in Victorian England as well, I believe. I remember reading about it in the context of consensual “sodomy.”
- Eddy_Viscosity2 1y ago
  Even the punishing of corruption in China is corrupt. The corruption is baked into to every level. Such that if an upper power is unhappy with a lower level for whatever reason, they can just push the punish switch and have them done away with.
  - defrost 1y ago
    The US is rapidly catching up here; already in the US if a higher power wants a lesser figure punished they can simply order an indictment, should anyone be foolish enough to resist such an order for lack of evidence of any actual serious crime, they can be replaced immediately with someone willing to bend and break the law with a straight face.
Woodi 1y ago
That must be thanks to abundance of freedom. And somehow sentence from "The good, the bad and ugly" movie (state by Italy born actor) fit on that subject: "If you want freedom you become a priest or a bandit"... And remember to all the time stick a smile to your face and, internet even, conversations. That is sure fire way to have everything look positive.

tokioyoyo 1y ago

To be fair, corruption is also a problem in China. But still the consequences are much higher, if you think of province-level book-cooking and what happened to their leaders. The incentives for policy making are much different in both countries.