Mei jin gongzhai wubi an de fasheng ji chuli jingguo.

From the middle of the Anti-Japanese War, corruption worsened in the Nationalist-held areas. The US dollar bond embezzlement case of 1942 provides a typical example. The suspected involvement in the scandal of his brother-in-law, H. H. Kong (Kong Xiangxi), placed Chiang Kai-shek in a dilemma. Although he upheld Kong's image in public, he ordered several secret investigations into the case. Despite his disappointment and rage on confirmation of Kong's guilt, he bore in mind the rule of the "party-state" and the reputation of his family, and not only failed to pursue the criminal responsibility of Kong and his corrupt associates but cracked down on the expression of public opinion. The fact that Chiang and the Nationalist government were unable to punish corruption further worsened the situation after the war ended. This was an important factor contributing to the Nationalist Party's loss of power on the Chinese mainland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]