A former official in Lixin county of Bozhou, Anhui Province, was praised by web users on Wednesday after he used his microblog to give a step-by-step account of his confession to the local Communist Party of China's (CPC) disciplinary watchdog for offering bribes.
Zhou Wenbin, an official at the Lixin Land Resources Bureau (LRB), posted eight messages detailing his journey to the Bozhou Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC on his microblog on Wednesday morning. The first message read, "I am now on the bus and there is a two-hour drive to my destination, Bozhou." According to another message, he did not tell anyone in his family about his decision to confess his actions for fear that they would prevent him from going through with it.
The report ended with a message expressing gratefulness to web users, who supported his move, which was posted five minutes before he entered the commission. The number of people following his microblog rose to around 1,300 by on Wednesday. "I support you. Losing your conscience is worse than doing wrong," said one user named "cherish."
"I offered bribes to the director of the Lixin LRB and the case also involves officials of higher rank," Zhou told the Global Times after he left the commission, declining to reveal further details about the amounts offered, saying only that all those involved should take criminal responsibility.
"I couldn't sleep last night and I couldn't stop shaking on my way to the commission, but now I feel relieved," Zhou said.
However, some web users have expressed skepticism over Zhou's actions. "I will keep watching developments to see if Zhou intends to educate others or just save himself by making use of public opinion," one post said.
According to Zhou, the incident occurred a year ago. He said he later felt regret and considered reporting the crime to the authorities at the time.
"I was unable to make the decision for fear that it might affect my family and that my report might come to nothing," Zhou said. "But the powerful microblog helped me find courage. I have no way back and I believe there will be a result under the supervision of the public."
The commission released him after the inquiry and asked him to cooperate in future investigations, Zhou said, adding that the police have not yet stepped in. An official from the commission confirmed to the Anhui-based Xin'an Evening News that Zhou had come to face the inquiry on Wednesday.
A member of staff at the Lixin LRB told Hefei Evening News that Zhou was formerly a low-level official at the bureau, but had been removed from his post last year and worked as a regular member of staff since then. He did not elaborate on why Zhou had been removed from his post.