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Jimu News commentator Qu Jing

Ma Xiangyu, a staff member of Suzhou Industrial Park's Bureau of Commerce and a graduate of Tsinghua University, publicly reported the corruption of Zhu, the director of the Bureau of Commerce of the Industrial Park, under his real name. Currently, the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have set up a special working group to conduct an investigation into the matter.

On July 30, Ma Xiangyu told reporters, "I have not received a call from the city's investigation team yet." On the afternoon of the 30th, he received a relevant notice, "The unit leaders require all employees to suspend their annual leave and return to work as usual starting tomorrow." On July 30, Ma Xiangyu said in an interview: "If I receive a call from the official investigation team, I will go back to work. If I go back now, I may not be able to come back, and I will be controlled."

The reporter then contacted Sun Jingxia, deputy director of the Suzhou Industrial Park Commerce Bureau. She said that there was indeed such a notice, "It was a decision we made based on our work needs," and other information was not convenient to disclose. (According to Dute News on July 30)

Screenshot of the video of Ma Xiangyu's real-name report

Whether it is a grassroots staff member reporting the director, or a Tsinghua graduate reporting in his real name with his ID card, it is enough to attract attention; the content of the report involves bid rigging and collusion in government procurement, fictitious projects to siphon funds, profit transfer, providing false materials to the provincial party committee inspection team, and Zhu's own academic fraud, which is shocking. At the same time, the reporter Ma Xiangyu also said that the amount involved in the case is no less than 17 million yuan, and he was retaliated because he refused to participate. If these reports are true, they will be suspected of violating many party disciplines and national laws, and the consequences are very serious, so they should be treated more seriously.

The Suzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government responded quickly and set up a special working group to investigate the matter, which undoubtedly reflects the government's emphasis on real-name reporting. The official response stated that it would seek truth from facts, handle it in accordance with regulations, disciplines and laws, respond to social concerns in a timely manner, and also demonstrate an attitude of maintaining fairness and justice. We have reason to believe that for any behavior that harms national interests, destroys the political ecology, and pollutes the work style, the investigation team will definitely conduct a thorough investigation and handle it impartially.

Chat records provided by Ma Xiangyu about the unit notifying him of his return to work

However, Ma Xiangyu was uneasy because he received the text message about returning to work, and this feeling is completely understandable. As a young front-line staff member, he reported the director of the unit, and according to his statement, he was retaliated against because he did not want to go along with the corrupt. He provided a lot of materials to the Suzhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision and reported in his real name, but there was no follow-up. Although this report has attracted public attention, he did not directly receive feedback and inquiries from the investigation team, and was asked to return to his original unit to continue working. It is indeed human nature to worry about being retaliated against again. This also reminds us that while waiting for the results of the investigation, how to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the whistleblower from infringement is also an issue that deserves attention and needs to be solved urgently.

Real-name reporting can effectively improve the credibility and acceptance rate of reports, speed up processing, reduce case handling costs, provide important clues to disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies in a timely manner, and effectively combat illegal and criminal activities. However, it also increases the risk of information leakage and retaliation of reporters. There have been many cases before that show that this concern is not groundless. Especially when the content of the report involves the leaders of their own unit, reporters often face tremendous psychological pressure and potential risks. Therefore, when relevant departments investigate and handle reporting clues, it is indeed necessary to have a sound mechanism and clear process to protect the safety and rights of reporters.

According to the "Several Provisions on Protecting and Rewarding Whistleblowers of Duty Crimes" jointly issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Finance, it is necessary to focus on the prior protection of whistleblowers and refine the protection measures for whistleblowers and their immediate family members. If there is evidence that whistleblowers and their immediate family members may be retaliated against by the head of the unit using his power or influence, the People's Procuratorate shall require the relevant unit or individual to explain or clarify. Those who retaliate against or instruct others to retaliate against whistleblowers and their immediate family members shall be punished in accordance with discipline and law; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law. In specific cases, at least timely communication should be maintained with the whistleblower, the risk of his report should be assessed, and a protection plan should be formulated when necessary to prevent and deal with acts of retaliation against real-name whistleblowers.

At the same time, we can consider establishing an independent whistleblower protection agency that is independent of the reported unit, has independent investigation and handling powers, can quickly respond to the whistleblower's request, and provide all-round protection and support for the whistleblower. At the same time, the agency should also strengthen psychological counseling and legal aid for whistleblowers to help them overcome their life and psychological difficulties. Once the report is true, in addition to taking corresponding measures against the persons involved, it should also ensure that the whistleblower will not be adversely affected in his career development due to the reporting behavior.

The most important thing is to increase the punishment for retaliating against whistleblowers. Any form of retaliatory behavior against whistleblowers should be severely punished in accordance with the law to serve as a warning to others. At the same time, typical cases should be disclosed, publicity and education should be strengthened, and the whole society should be called upon to gather positive energy and create a good atmosphere to protect those who raise their arms.

In recent years, more and more people have made real-name reports online. Generally speaking, these reports are handled promptly and efficiently. However, only by building healthier, more transparent and complete channels for mass supervision and constantly improving the whistleblower protection mechanism can we avoid the problem of “no exposure, no handling” becoming a new problem and encourage more people to stand up bravely and jointly uphold fairness and justice.

Further reading:

Top student reports director: "Not being able to make progress at Tsinghua" is a compliment to me

According to media reports such as Xin Huanghe, on July 28, Ma Xiangyu, who claimed to be a 2018 Tsinghua University graduate and a clerk at the Suzhou Industrial Park Commerce Bureau, publicly reported online under his real name that the bureau's director Zhu and others had colluded in bids, set up fictitious projects to siphon funds, transferred benefits, and provided false materials to the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee Inspection Team in government procurement. The amount involved was no less than 17 million yuan, which aroused widespread public concern.

Ma Xiangyu publicly reported the bureau's director Zhu Mou by his real name online

Ma Xiangyu is 32 years old and from Suzhou, Jiangsu. He obtained a double bachelor's degree during his undergraduate studies at Tsinghua University. During his postgraduate studies at Tsinghua University, he was sent to Harvard University in the United States to do research for a period of time. After graduating with a master's degree, he came to Suzhou Industrial Park to work through talent introduction in 2019.

Ma Xiangyu said that on March 13, 2023, the Suzhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision formally accepted his report, but he has not received any feedback to this day. "I provided them with a large number of contracts, bills, inquiry records, call recordings, WeChat chat records, email accounts and other materials, intending to prove that Zhu and others had long-term internally determined the winning bidder when purchasing projects and exhibition services from relevant companies, used companies under the same person's name to collude in bidding, and provided false materials to the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee Inspection Team. "

Source of Ma Xiangyu's report: Weibo of the person involved

On July 22, Ma Xiangyu sent a registered letter to the Suzhou Municipal Government. He said this was his "last effort" as a member of the system.

Ma Xiangyu said that on June 7, 2021, Director Zhu and Section Chief Huang asked him to handle the closing of a government procurement project handled by another colleague and asked him to sign. Ma Xiangyu said there were problems with the project and refused to handle it. In the same month, Zhu talked to him in his office and said he was "confronting the leadership."

Ma Xiangyu work group chat history

Ma Xiangyu said that he had been subjected to long-term retaliation since then, all his major achievements had been taken away from him, his employee evaluation for two consecutive years was "basically competent", and an evaluation of "disobeying leadership" was stuffed into his file.

Ma Xiangyu said that on October 29, 2022, he was involved in a "suspicious" car accident and was hit by a vehicle coming from behind, causing soft tissue injuries to his head and limbs.

Screenshot of the report letter

On February 24, 2023, Zhu ordered him to be removed from the unit’s work WeChat group, and he has not been removed since then.

Ma Xiangyu was removed from the group chat

Ma Xiangyu said: "On February 29 this year, Zhu openly threatened that if I dared to sue again, the public security organs would charge me with the crime of provoking disturbances."

Ma Xiangyu said that Zhu requested that all candidates who graduated from Tsinghua University be excluded from the admission list during the new round of talent introduction by the park management committee, with the reason being that "Tsinghua graduates are not on the right track." "'Tsinghua graduates are not on the right track' is a huge compliment to me," Ma Xiangyu said, "We can't follow such a track."

Ma Xiangyu said Zhu threatened him publicly

According to Jiangsu News, the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government attached great importance to this and immediately set up a special working group to conduct an investigation. It is understood that after Ma Xiangyu reported the case in March 2023, the disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities immediately launched an investigation. During this process, Ma Xiangyu continued to report new situations, and relevant departments continued to follow up.

Screenshot of Jiangsu news report

According to a report by Dute News, one of Ma Xiangyu's senior sisters said that alumni have set up a group to support Ma Xiangyu. Education blogger "Wo Shi Fan En" said that he had contact with Ma Xiangyu in student organizations and scientific research activities. "From the limited contact and the comments among classmates, Ma Xiangyu is not a smooth person. He is a bit aloof and principled. He has his own style in doing things and speaking. He is not afraid of offending people. He is the kind of person who will not 'bow his head and serve the powerful.'"

Screenshot of a post by education blogger "I am Fanen"

A Tsinghua alumnus said, "Several alumni groups are forwarding this news, and we look forward to seeing follow-up reports."

Screenshot of netizens' comments

One netizen said, "If they were not desperate, who would be willing to appear in the media in this way?" Another netizen said, "Laws must be followed and violations must be investigated. Handle according to the law and enforce the law impartially. Regardless of the report, the result should be announced."

Screenshot of netizens' comments

Whether Zhu has committed any illegal or disciplinary violations will ultimately require a local investigation to determine the outcome. We hope that the relevant departments can move forward with the investigation as soon as possible and respond to public concerns in a timely manner.