Senior official vows harsh anti-corruption drive

A senior official with the Communist Party of China (CPC) vowed to continue fighting corruption in a statement released on Monday.

Wang Qishan, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), made the remarks while delivering a work report to the third plenary session of the commission on Jan. 13.

Discipline agencies at all levels will carry on the fight against undesirable work styles, such as formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance, in line with the eight-point guidelines issued by the CPC leadership in December 2012, Wang noted.

China will continue the ban on officials spending public money on expensive dinners, gifts and tours, visiting private clubs, as well as accepting gifts and money from their subordinates and persons of interest in any form, according to the statement.

Discipline inspection agencies will continue investigating and punishing officials who violate Party rules and laws, especially those embezzling public money, taking bribes, selling or buying government positions, bending laws for personal ends, living a corrupt lifestyle and failing to fulfill their duties, it said.

Senior officials will be under stricter scrutiny. Discipline agencies will double-check the information they are asked to report, mostly about their personal lives, for instance, whether their spouses and children have migrated.

Also, the CCDI pledged to police its own officers, severely punish any corrupt ones and be open to supervision from other Party departments, the public and media.