Corruption in Different Languages
- Date Submitted: 05/30/2011 11:52 PM
- Flesch-Kincaid Score: 46.3
- Words: 448
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THE Thais call it gin muong (nation eating). In Chinese, it is
known as tan wu (greedy impurity), in Japanese oshoku (dirty job),
and to the Pakistanis, it is ooper ki admani (income from above).
Every Oriental language has its own phrase for corruption—and in
every tongue the words are unpleasantly familiar. All around the
rim of mainland China, many Asian nations are making notable
progress, but the greatest obstacle remains the furtive hand in the
till, the kickback artist, the bagman, the specialist in "squeeze."
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, who has more than his share
of corruption to bog him down at home, is convinced that "we must
change a whole way of life. We must do it or fail to survive."
Chiseling is a part of the Asian ambiance, from the ramshackle
capital of lazy little Laos to the broad boulevards of booming
Bangkok and the expense-account nightclubs of prosperous Japan.
Even rigid Communist disciplinarians have failed to suppress the
fast-buck artist: from Red China come tales of profiteering in the
communes; refugees report that shady officials do a brisk business
in exit permits; and the government is constantly renewing its
"Four Cleans" anticorruption campaign. As for North Viet Nam, Hanoi
recently headlined a Politburo official's complaint that party
members were indulging in "dubious financial situations" and
"incorrect borrowing."
That could mean anything, for as any Asian can testify, the
technique of the take has infinite varieties. A stranger at the
airport in Vientiane should not be startled if the customs official
politely demands a 100-kip "deposit" for the transistor radio in
his baggage. In the Philippines, some of the busiest businessmen
are the "commuters," people who travel back and forth between
Manila and Hong Kong counting on bribed customs officials to let
them return with luggage loaded with...
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