With considerable fanfare, China's anti-graft squad has rolled out a brand new website in the ongoing fight against corruption.
anti-graft:反腐 tale:故事,传说,叙述 fanfare:炫耀 roll out:铺开,推出
Billed as a new channel for the public to report corruption - whether it is the high-ranking 'tigers' or lowly 'flies ' that settle on ill-gotten crumbs - the website is an intriguing innovation by the Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and its government sidekick, the Ministry of Supervision. The website (www.ccdi.gov.cn) has a handy online feature for reporting corruption anonymously - or with the inclusion of the bold accuser's name.
ill-gotten::非法获得的 crumb:面包屑 intriguing:有趣的,迷人的 CCDI:中央纪律检查委员会 anonymously:匿名地
accuser:原告,控告,指责者
It may not have the high drama of the not-quite-real time microblog account that allowed the public to glimpse into the trial of Bo Xilai, the disgraced Communist Party highflier who was brought before a court in Shandong to face charges of corruption and abuse of power. But as a permanent feature it could be a small but useful tool - for the want of other more robust institutions like an independent and reliable legal system or a news media that doesn't have to take instructions from the party's propaganda arm.
disgraced:失宠的,遭贬谪的 propaganda:宣传
The website showed top graft fighter Wang Qishan symbolically setting the site in motion. It officially described itself as an authoritative platform for news in the drive to promote clean government and said it will collate anti-graft efforts from around the country, allowing officials and the public to benefit from their experience.
collate:核对,校对
Besides the photo of Mr. Wang, there are photos of exhibitions and talk shops on the importance of rooting out corruption. There are also a handful of slick videos promoting anti-corruption efforts, one featuring basketball star Yao Ming and another profiling the corruption-busting exertions of late Communist Party veteran Chen Yun.
exertions:发挥,运用,努力
It also had a slightly more recent report from the official Xinhua News Agency on a court hearing of the former deputy party leader of Inner Mongolia who has been accused of taking more than 40 million yuan in bribes and other payments either directly or through family and associates. (That's considerably more than the amount Mr. Bo was accused of taking, though there was no apparent need to broadcast the hearing on social media)
And the website didn't quite rub in another high-profile target - the former head of the State-owned Assets Supervision Commission Jiang Jiemin. It showed only a one-line notice that Mr. Jiang was being investigated, not bothering to mention his dismissal from his post, even though it was listed as the item generating the most public interest.
dismissal:解雇,免职
The website had a bit more to say about some 300 senior party officials in Guangdong at a training session on party disciplinary matters and another helpful article on the need to 'absolutely resist' the giving of 'moon cakes' and other gifts to officials at the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.
One item that didn't quite make the grade was a report in the Beijing Times about an unfortunate man who allegedly was drowned by overzealous investigators trying to extract a confession. The chief engineer from a state company in Wenzhou was held down in a bathtub of icy water after refusing to answer questions, according to the report and court documents. The six investigators involved in the bathtub excesses have been indicted on charges of intentional infliction of harm.
make the grade:成功,达到标准 allegedly:据说 overzealous:过分热心的 indict:控告,起诉,揭发
infliction:施加,处罚 interrogation:审问 strive for:争取,奋斗
Perhaps the anti-graft website could provide some guidelines to investigators on the limits to their interrogations as they strive for 'clean' government.