BEIJING: As a record number of senior officials were investigated for corruption last year, China’s campaign to fight graft, which has now reached a wider section of society and retired officials, shows no signs of losing steam, experts said.
A total of 58 centrally managed officials were investigated for disciplinary violations in 2024 by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. And 47 of these were at the vice-ministerial level or above, the country’s top anti-corruption watchdogs said in a report on last year’s efforts to fight corruption, which was published on their official website.
The watchdogs said that many “tigers”, a term used to refer to high-ranking corrupt officials, were put under investigation last year in key sectors with a high concentration of power, funds and resources including finance, sports, State-owned enterprises, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure and construction, as well as tendering and bidding. This has sent out a strong signal that efforts to fight corruption in key sectors have been deepened.
In addition, in the first three quarters of 2024, disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities nationwide filed approximately 642,000 cases, the watchdogs said.
Peng Xinlin, a senior expert in integrity building and anti-graft fields, said that the increase in the number of “tigers” snatched and cases filed demonstrates the country’s persistent efforts to strengthen anti-corruption campaigns, which shows that the strong momentum to fight corruption will not slacken.
“People should realize that the fight against corruption and preventing it from happening is still tough. And continued efforts should be made to eliminate the soil that breeds corruption,” Peng said. The report was published just before the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC CCDI, the Party’s top disciplinary body, which will be held from Monday to Wednesday. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
