Firm on corruption

AS THE 96-year-old Communist Party of China (CPC) prepares to hold its 19th national congress later this year, the world is watching how the long-ruling party will remain vigorous in the future.

In fact, the CPC’s efforts in self-reform since its 18th national congress held five years ago have provided answers to that question. Xi Jinping, who took office as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, has led the efforts to fight corruption, calling on the whole party to stay fully alert and describing corruption as a threat to its very survival.

Nothing is off-limits in the anti-corruption efforts and zero tolerance has been shown towards corruption, Xi said at the seventh plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) earlier this year.

On December 4, 2012, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee convened a meeting to deliberate on the eight-point frugality code to address “si feng” or “four forms of decadence” – formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance.

According to the CCDI, as of the end of May a total of 170 400 violations against the eight-point frugality code had been investigated across the country, with 231 100 people punished, including 20 ministerial-level party officials.

The “three stricts and three earnests” campaign, advanced by Xi in 2014, urges officials to be strict in morals, power and self-discipline, and to be honest in decisions, business and behaviour.

The party not only exercises self-discipline within the country, but also reaches abroad to hunt down fugitives. Yang Xiuzhu, who was once number one on the list of China’s top 100 fugitives released in an Interpol “red notice”, turned herself in to the country in November 2016 after 13 years on the run.

So far, over 40 fugitives on the Interpol red list have either voluntarily returned or been extradited to China.

A total of 57 000 party members took the initiative to confess to their wrongdoings in 2016.