Top graft-buster stresses CPC leadership in fighting corruption

China's top graft-buster Wang Qishan has lauded the role that the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee plays in anti-corruption and inspection work.

Wang made the remarks while delivering a work report at the seventh plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Jan. 6. The report was made public on Thursday.

According to Wang, the strong leadership of the Party's Central Committee was important to the successes of last year.

"We are at a crucial junction on the journey to national rejuvenation," Wang said, noting that adhering to the Party's leadership is the paramount political principle in today's China.

While acknowledging the efforts to comprehensively and strictly govern the Party and improvements in intra-Party political life, Wang criticized the lack of belief and commitment of some Party members and officials.

Wang said the Party's frugality and anti-extravagance campaigns had won public praise, which in turn had created the conditions for the Party to improve its systems.

He called for forming an effective system to detect and rectify problems within the Party so that it can improve, reform and grow.

"The greatest political advantage of our Party is the bond with the public," Wang said, urging CPC members to listen to people's voices, wills and desires.

Also, the CCDI head reminded discipline inspectors that they were not above reproach, and should be supervised by the Party and the public.

Wang said the cleansing of the Party was a campaign with no end, and it should be achieved with a sober mind and political composure.

Speaking of the CCDI's work plan for this year, Wang said the supervisory system reform should continue, with no let up of the "high pressure" against corruption.

Wang said Party members should be politically vigilant and fight violations of the Party's code of conduct resolutely.

Any acts that go against the Party's unity, Wang said, such as liberalism, sectarianism and decentralism, should be seriously punished.

Noting that the 19th National Congress of the CPC is scheduled for this year, Wang said inspectors should keep an eye out for fraud or other violations in the processes of election of delegates and other senior Party officials.

The top graft-buster called for continued efforts to improve work styles and seek new solutions to old problems.

Wang urged units at local level to formulate practical measures of implementing the eight-point frugality rules catering to the reality of their own.

Once rules are made, they must be strictly followed, he said.

In his speech, Wang pledged better accountability and supervisory systems to advance the strict rule of the Party.

Earlier this month, the CCDI announced that China will establish a national supervisory commission, and draft a law on national supervision.

According to Wang, provincial-level supervisory commissions will be set up by the end of March, and municipal- and county- level commissions will be established before June.

Supervisory system reform should be carried out with checks and interaction between supervisory commissions, law enforcement and judiciary agencies, he noted.

He stressed that "pressure on corruption should be maintained, given that anti-graft situation remains severe and complicated."

Lessons must be learned from those "negative examples," Wang said in his speech citing corruption of grassroots-level officials in poverty alleviation.

Wang said those who dare to dip their hands into the poverty relief funds for personal gains will be punished.

International cooperation against corruption, including relevant efforts in cooperation with the United Nations, G20 and APEC, should be improved, said Wang, adding that he was upbeat that new achievements would be made in returning fugitives in the "Sky Net" campaign in 2017.

According to Wang, 2,566 people who have fled overseas have returned, and more than 8.6 billion yuan (around 1.25 billion U.S. dollars) of illegal assets have been recovered since the "Sky Net" campaign was first launched in 2014.

Wang promised better reforms within discipline inspection organs and official selections.

In his speech, Wang also elaborated on anti-corruption achievements in 2016, saying more than 48,000 officials were investigated by prosecutors for bribery, dereliction of duty and other duty-related crimes in the past year. Endi