"If generals fill their pockets with embezzled money while ordinary soldiers sleep in ill-constructed camps, who will fight for the country when needed?" said Xu Guangyu, a retired major general who is a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, a non-governmental organization.

On February 11, the PLA Daily reported that a new round of audit covering all levels of the PLA will begin soon to deepen the anti-corruption efforts within the military.

The plan is to conduct an investigation of all military personnel's income and expenses during 2013 and 2014, according to the CMC.

Zhao Keshi, head of the PLA's General Logistics Department and leader of the audit group, said during the group's first meeting on February 11 that the audit will help improve the army's efficiency in utilizing financial resources.

The investigation, which will cover all departments and ranks within the army, will be far-reaching and may involve conflicts of interest, Zhao said.

The financial investigation will look into all cash records, receipts and expenses that exceeded original budgets to uncover cases of embezzlement and hidden caches of cash that corrupt personnel have siphoned from public funds.

The CMC requires the army to make the investigation their top priority, and to regularly review its progress.

"The investigation will dig out more 'tigers and flies' (high- and low-ranking corrupt officials) still hidden from the current graft probe. It will also facilitate better financial management within the army to avoid the abuse of power and to build up financial discipline," said Xu, now a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.

The PLA Daily said in a commentary on February 10 that the army has achieved some success in the fight against military corruption after setting up a series of rules to curb the misuse of expenses and improve financial efficiency.

A list of names of generals at and above the army level who have been investigated or convicted recently was released on March 2.

The list featured 14 senior officers from several military commands including Chengdu, Shenyang, Shanxi, Hubei and Guangzhou as well members of the navy, air force, second artillery corps, the PLA General Staff Headquarters, the National Defense University and the Academy of Military Sciences.

Guo Zhenggang, Deputy Political Commissar of the Zhejiang Provincial Military Command, one of the 14 corrupt military officers, was put under investigation by the military procuratorate in February for suspected "serious legal violations and criminal offenses."

Entertainment areas

During an online interview in late January, Li Qiufang, a member of the CCDI Central Committee, confirmed that the top disciplinary watchdog will ramp up its inspections of the film, radio and television industries this year, as several cases of corruption have been discovered.

Discipline officers will investigate "hidden conditions" in the industries, according to the CCDI.

Such "hidden conditions" often refer to bribes offered to officials or directors in order to increase circulation or advertising, or to improve the impact of TV programs or films.

"The inspectors will focus on key areas, including the purchase and sales of film and television plays, large-scale programs, equipment procurement or TV satellite coverage," Li, Director of the central inspection team dispatched to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), said on January 29.

The flourishing cultural industry draws bundles of cash into many sub-fields. China now boasts the second-largest global film market with the box office amounting to $4.8 billion in 2014. The advertising revenue of Chinese TV stations surpassed 130 billion yuan ($21.14 billion) in 2013.

According to Li, the inspectors will also enhance supervision of media advertising, news reporting and overseas correspondence stations to prevent major graft.

"We will develop a better understanding of the regular character and operating methods of any graft, especially any 'implicit rules,' to crack down on such cases," she said.

Statistics from the CCDI show that the top anti-graft watchdog probed 405 graft cases involving the media last year, with 49 media directors placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption.

Last year, more than 20 directors and hosts from China Central Television (CCTV) were apprehended by disciplinary officers under accusations of graft, including Guo Zhenxi, former director at CCTV's financial channel; Huang Haitao, Deputy Director at the program purchasing center; and Rui Chenggang, the former well-known host of a finance program.

"The film, radio and television industries have never been clean. We must crack down on corruption in these fields," said Li.

In September 2014, a SAPPRFT TV series censor was sentenced to 10 years and six months behind bars for taking bribes of 300,000 yuan ($47,970).

"TV station executives have the final say in whether to let TV series pass the censors and whether or not to buy them, and some producers promise a 10 to 15 percent cut of the total distribution fees to the executives to assure their work is aired," said Wang Hailing, a screenwriter.

Wang said these illegal deeds have enabled some poor-quality movies and TV series to enter the market and argued that if the authorities do not implement stricter regulations, the whole industry will go downhill.

"Stronger supervision and enforcement will benefit the industry until it can regulate itself," said Zhang Peng, an associate professor at Nanjing Normal University. However, Zhang noted that a fair industrial environment with clear standards that regulate people's behavior should be the long-term solution other than anti-graft campaigns.

Li said that the administration will raise awareness among the media to cultivate proper behavior and clean up the media environment in order to foster its healthy development.

Moreover, the inspectors should strengthen media inspections to collect tips about corruption and motivate the public to report clues about graft.

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