An investigative report on China Central Television (CCTV) lifted the veil on how officials serving jail terms for corruption are living. According to the program, Luo Yinguo, former secretary of Maoming Committee of the Communist Party of China in Guangdong Province, and Zhu Yuying, former deputy director of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Maoming, who were sentenced to jail due to corruption, are kept busy working every day. These two shaven-headed prisoners are imprisoned with a dozen other criminals, producing thousands of light bulbs every day.

There have been rumors that corrupt officials enjoy privileges not given to other convicts, and the public has suspicions over whether corrupt officials and other prisoners are treated equally in jail. The CCTV program offers a true picture.

The sentenced corrupt officials have broken away from their past. They were punished in accordance with the law. This teaches officials in office a lesson that corruption can only lead to the same sort of consequences that Luo and Zhu are experiencing.

Each time a corrupt official falls, society never fails to overwhelmingly approve. This warns officials to stay away from embezzlement and graft. We hope officials can enhance self-discipline and stick to clean governance, devoting themselves to improving the public image of officials.

Some raised the question over whether the human rights of Luo and Zhu as prisoners have been fully respected, in view of their ages and workload. We believe the human rights of corrupt officials in prison should not be separated from those of other prisoners.

Jailed corrupt officials not only have lost everything, but also gained notoriety. They have come to a dead end, but only have themselves to blame.

Unfortunately, they caused trouble to other officials, damaging the image of the whole team. This particularly affects low-paid grass-roots officials, obstructing the way to raise salaries for them.

Luo reportedly loves reading and acts quite rationally when he is in prison. Whether one can keep sober depends on the external environment. A group of corrupt officials zealously sought money because of human frailty and loopholes in the system.

One can't turn back the clock in life. Going from a corrupt official to a prisoner is a one-way ticket. But we should reshape the culture of the officials.

Caging their power could not only curb corruption, but also redeem the reputation of all officials. We hope the ongoing anti-corruption campaign will have a long-lasting impact, making contributions to reshape the culture of China's officialdom.