China’s anti-corruption body begins purging government graft

Beijing, Jan 9 (IANS) China's anti-corruption body has stepped up its aggressive plan to purge internal government graft after more than three years of campaigning, during which time it has punished government officers, military and business leaders.

According to official Chinese press, more than 500,000 corruption investigators are being placed under tougher supervision measures, after the regulation to standardise graft probes was adopted on Sunday, Efe news reported.

The disciplinary body, the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, established the regulation following a three-day meeting in which two members, Wang Zhongtian and Li Jianbo, were also removed for alleged "disciplinary violations".

Wang, the assistant of high-ranking Communist senior publicly disgraced for corruption, was removed from his position in the Communist Party.

Li was forced to resign from his role at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The new regulation of the Chinese anti-corruption body, the details of which were not released, sets standards on how to investigate cases and manage ill-gotten money.

Other proposals included the establishment of a new national supervisory commission to integrate the anti-corruption investigations of different government agencies and the creation of a specific law on the subject.

"Trust (in disciplinary officials) cannot replace supervision," read a statement released at the end of the meeting.

Chinese President and Secretary-General of the Communist Party Xi Jinping participated on Friday in the opening of the meeting and took stock of the anti-corruption campaign ongoing since he came to power almost four years ago.

"The objective of ensuring officials do not dare to be corrupt has been basically achieved," said Xi, adding "the spread of corruption has been effectively contained."