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Concealing Corruption: How Chinese Officials Distort Upward Reporting of Online Grievances

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  • PAN, JENNIFER
  • CHEN, KAIPING

Abstract

A prerequisite for the durability of authoritarian regimes as well as their effective governance is the regime’s ability to gather reliable information about the actions of lower-tier officials. Allowing public participation in the form of online complaints is one approach authoritarian regimes have taken to improve monitoring of lower-tier officials. In this paper, we gain rare access to internal communications between a monitoring agency and upper-level officials in China. We show that citizen grievances posted publicly online that contain complaints of corruption are systematically concealed from upper-level authorities when they implicate lower-tier officials or associates connected to lower-tier officials through patronage ties. Information manipulation occurs primarily through omission of wrongdoing rather than censorship or falsification, suggesting that even in the digital age, in a highly determined and capable regime where reports of corruption are actively and publicly voiced, monitoring the behavior of regime agents remains a challenge.

Suggested Citation

  • Pan, Jennifer & Chen, Kaiping, 2018. "Concealing Corruption: How Chinese Officials Distort Upward Reporting of Online Grievances," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 112(3), pages 602-620, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:112:y:2018:i:03:p:602-620_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Han, 2021. "How Using Machine Learning Classification as a Variable in Regression Leads to Attenuation Bias and What to Do About It," SocArXiv 453jk, Center for Open Science.
    2. David Karpa & Torben Klarl & Michael Rochlitz, 2021. "Artificial Intelligence, Surveillance, and Big Data," Bremen Papers on Economics & Innovation 2108, University of Bremen, Faculty of Business Studies and Economics.
    3. Dong, Xiaoge & Voigt, Stefan, 2022. "Courts as monitoring agents: The case of China," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Liu, Zhuang & Wong, T.J. & Yi, Yang & Zhang, Tianyu, 2022. "Authoritarian transparency: China's missing cases in court disclosure," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 221-239.
    5. David Karpa & Torben Klarl & Michael Rochlitz, 2021. "Artificial Intelligence, Surveillance, and Big Data," Papers 2111.00992, arXiv.org.
    6. Maiting Zhuang, 2022. "Intergovernmental Conflict and Censorship: Evidence from China’s Anti-Corruption Campaign," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(6), pages 2540-2585.
    7. Qi Wang & Mengdi Liu & Jintao Xu & Bing Zhang, 2023. "Blow the Lid Off: Public Complaints, Bargaining Power, and Government Responsiveness on Social Media," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(1), pages 133-166, May.

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