Prez Xi praised for anti-corruption drive

BEIJING : A week before the Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), during which President Xi Jinping is expected to strengthen his enormous powers, his signature anti-corruption campaign has been hailed as remarkable and unfaltering.

The state media on Tuesday released the latest numbers for party workers and officials who have been sacked, jailed or punished under the drive, launched soon after Xi took over in 2012 to target both “tigers” and “flies” – they added up to more than 1.4 million.

“Disciplinary watchdogs nationwide have...punished more than 1.4 million party members or officials since 2012,” said a glowing report by the official Xinhua news agency.

“In five years, more than 280 centrally administered officials have been investigated by the CCDI, at least 120 of whom have been transferred to judicial authorities,” the report said. It didn’t mention the status of the remaining 160.

The latest numbers were released at the end of a plenary session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) — the CPC’s top disciplinary body.

The names of the top “tigers” were highlighted in the Xinhua commentary. Last month, the CCDI announced the expulsion of a rising star of the CPC, Sun Zhengcai, who was the chief of the Chongqing municipal committee.