‘Money Worship’ Could Corrupt Goal, Chinese Told

The vice chairman in charge of a special Chinese Communist Party commission on ideology warned Sunday that “money worship” and “spiritual pollution”--evils associated by the party with capitalist societies--are corrupting Chinese party members.

In a pointed warning published on the front pages of all major newspapers here, Bo Yibo stressed that communism is the final goal of China’s current liberal economic policies.

But, he said, some party members misunderstand the goals of new market-oriented policies, which allow limited application of the profit motive and encourage some private incentives to stimulate the economy.

“What we are doing now is socialist work,” Bo said in a speech to Communist Party leaders. “Its final goal is communism. This is very important.

“The idea of looking out for money in everything and of money worship is now corrupting some people in our ranks.

“Presently, in some units, the attitude of no organization, no discipline, has reached a very serious level. Some cadres even say, ‘If you want to develop the economy, you must relax the party spirit.’ ”