Stark comparison

Data from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC shows that tens of thousands of officials have been investigated for violations since 2012, but the overall frequency of cases has steadily declined, indicating that deterrence and self-restraint have taken root.

Ross contrasted China's system with that of the United States.

"The majority of members of the US Congress are millionaires," he said. "They are legally allowed to purchase shares in companies affected by the laws they pass or the investigations they oversee. Meanwhile, corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars funding their campaigns."

In 2020, approximately half of US lawmakers were millionaires, compared with only about 1 percent of the general public, according to a PolitiFact.org report.

"The Western form of democracy has always been linked to moneymaking and corruption," Ross said. "Companies and individuals frequently receive favors in exchange for financial contributions."

He cited a series of examples that have stirred public debate in the US. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for example, reportedly accepted luxury trips over more than two decades from Texas billionaire and Republican donor Harlan Crow, including private jet flights and a nine-day yacht cruise in Indonesia worth over half a million dollars.

"When even the judiciary is seen as financially entangled, it becomes hard to argue that Western democracy is a safeguard against corruption," Ross said, adding that the US presidency itself has become a platform for massive fundraising efforts. "It is only necessary to look at these facts to see that the claim that Western democracy prevents officials from profiting is false," he added.

Corruption scandals have also periodically shaken Europe. In the Netherlands, a municipal employee in Amsterdam was charged in mid-October with corruption and complicity in at least 95 violent incidents across the country, Dutch broadcaster NH reported. The employee allegedly sold confidential data to information brokers, who then passed it to criminal groups responsible for attacks and explosions, showing how breaches of integrity can directly threaten public safety.

In Lithuania, the former leader of the Liberal Movement party was convicted in 2023 for accepting bribes from an executive at the MG Baltic conglomerate. Local media mockingly described it as an "old-fashioned corruption case" because, unlike the more popular practice of accepting bribes via bitcoin, he was found by national anti-graft police to have 242,000 euros ($269,000) hidden in his home and car.

According to Eurojust, the EU agency for judicial cooperation, a total of 505 corruption cases were registered between 2016 and 2021, a sharp rise from 78 in 2016 to 112 in 2021. Analysts note that while the growing number of cases partly reflects stronger enforcement, it also points to the persistent structural nature of corruption in European institutions.