The newly promulgated ethical codes of China's civil service

Since China's post-Mao leadership introduced material incentives to promote productivity in its bid to catch up with industrialized countries, the nation's fledgling civil service has been infected by widespread unethical behavior among bureaucrats. One of the measures taken to combat corruption has been the enactment of ethical codes for government officials. This article discusses the problems and prospects of ethical codes, which may refashion China's public administration in the years to come.