China |
A continued fight | |
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![]() Li Shigong
China's anti-graft campaign maintained its powerful momentum throughout 2024, achieving solid results. Data from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the National Commission of Supervision (NCS) have revealed that in the first three quarters of 2024, discipline inspection and supervision authorities nationwide filed approximately 642,000 cases, involving 58 ministerial- and provincial-level officials, an increase from the previous year. "These rising figures demonstrate the intensified anti-corruption efforts and their improved effectiveness, sending a clear signal that the high-pressure campaign remains unwavering," stated Peng Xinlin, a criminal law and anti-corruption professor at Beijing Normal University, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency. He further emphasized the "grave and complex reality" of the struggle, underscoring the need to continue to eliminate the conditions that foster corruption. Notable progress A high-profile anti-corruption campaign has swept across the country since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, leading to the downfall of several high-level officials, known as "tigers," and many lower-level ones, known as "flies." And the hunt for "tigers" continued last year. Zhong Ziran, former head of the China Geological Survey, a national organization responsible for doing geological research, became the first "tiger" to meet his downfall in 2024. Last January 2, an official statement announced that Zhong was being investigated by the CCDI and NCS for suspected violations of laws and regulations. Zhong was later indicted for suspected bribe-taking and intentional leakage of state secrets, the Supreme People's Procuratorate announced last October. Li Shisong, former Vice Governor of Yunnan Province in southwest China, was expelled from the CPC and removed from public office due to serious violations of Party discipline and laws, as announced jointly by the CCDI and the NCS on December 17. In addition to targeting high-ranking officials, China continued its intense efforts to combat corruption in key industries ranging from finance, energy and tobacco, to sports, and infrastructure projects. The year 2024 saw some corrupt individuals in these key industries brought to justice. For example, Zhang Gengsheng, former Vice President of China Construction Bank, is currently being investigated for suspected violations of Party discipline and national laws, the CCDI and NCS announced on November 8. Kou Wei, former general manager of China Datang Co. Ltd., one of the largest power suppliers in China, is under investigation for suspected violations of Party discipline and national laws, the CCDI and NCS said on December 21. "China has achieved full-process management of corruption risks and enhanced the governance effectiveness of corruption in key areas and essential links through measures such as improving legal systems, plugging regulatory loopholes, and optimizing supervision mechanisms," Xu Xing, a professor of political science at the Zhou Enlai School of Government at Nankai University in Tianjin, said. Moreover, not only corruption involving large sums of money is fought, but also those involving smaller amounts. Starting in April 2024, the CCDI and NCS launched a nationwide campaign aimed at addressing "fly-like corruption" and "ant-like graft." This initiative focused on small-scale corruption at the grassroots level of government and organizations. While these cases often involve smaller sums of money, they can negatively impact the everyday lives of citizens. "Small-scale corruption occurred primarily in areas closely related to people's daily lives, such as education, medical care, pensions, social security, law enforcement and justice, which affects people's everyday interests," Song Wei, an expert in the anti-graft field, told Xinhua. He added that the practical results of combating corruption at the grassroots level directly affect the people's sense of gain, happiness and security, and profoundly impact the overall anti-corruption struggle. And so, it is necessary to intensify the punishment of these offenses, he concluded. Since the beginning of 2024, discipline inspection and supervision agencies nationwide had investigated and addressed approximately 596,000 cases of misconduct and corruption that directly affected people's livelihoods, Xinhua reported on December 28. As a result, 462,000 individuals had been held accountable, with 15,000 transferred to procuratorial organs for further investigation and prosecution by the end of the year. For example, in the education sector, supervisory departments had disciplined 23,000 individuals for various offenses, including the misuse of funds allocated for student meals, kickbacks in food procurement, and other financial irregularities, according to a report made by Liu Jinguo, head of the NCS, on December 22, during a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body. Throughout last year, supervisory organs nationwide took strong action to combat corruption and misconduct in the medical sector, including the practice of doctors accepting "red envelopes" (cash gifts) from patients. This not only places a financial burden on patients but also undermines the doctor-patient relationship, Liu reported. Such payments were often made by patients before surgeries, driven by the fear that failing to offer a "red envelope" could result in subpar treatment. Liu emphasized the need to address this issue, noting that those who have embezzled medical insurance funds have also been targeted in the ongoing crackdown. ![]() Li Tie, former head coach of the Chinese national men's soccer team, stands trial on charges of bribery and match-fixing at the Xianning Intermediate People's Court in Hubei Province on March 28, 2024 (XINHUA)
Tougher punishment The year 2024 also saw harsher punishment for bribe-giving. Combating bribery is a major focus of China's anti-corruption campaign. To address the issue in a holistic manner, China has redoubled its efforts to enforce law-based penalties for bribe-takers and bribe-givers. In particular, since the 20th CPC National Congress in 2022, a series of related institutional measures have been further introduced to combat both bribe-taking and -giving. In December 2023, the NPC Standing Committee passed an amendment to the Criminal Law to strengthen the nation's fight against bribery. The revised law, which took effect on March 1, 2024, states that those offering bribes repeatedly, or to multiple people, or to parties involved in major national projects will be severely punished. If bribes are offered to staff members of supervisory, administrative or judicial departments, or given for job promotion, or offered in fields such as the environment, finance, safety production, drug and food, social insurance, rescue relief, education and healthcare, the briber will face harsher penalties, according to the Criminal Law. Official statistics show that in the first three quarters of 2024, related cases filed by discipline inspection and supervision organs nationwide involved about 19,000 bribe-givers, with 2,972 transferred to procuratorial organs for further investigation and prosecution. Song said that the comprehensive anti-corruption fight can be more efficient only by tackling both bribe-giving and taking. BR Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon Comments to jijing@cicgamericas.com |
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