Action being taken against officials at both high and grassroots levels

China has seen a sharp year-on-year rise in the number of officials investigated and punished for corruption as the country's anti-graft campaign intensifies, according to the country's top anti-corruption watchdogs.

A strong deterrent effect against corruption is taking shape under sustained pressure, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission said in a statement over the weekend.

Disciplinary inspection and supervisory authorities across China received 1.91 million petition and complaint reports in the first half of this year and handled 1.21 million leads, both seeing significant increases from last year, according to data released on Saturday.

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Authorities filed 521,000 cases for disciplinary and supervisory investigation during the first six months, up 28 percent from last year. Disciplinary actions were taken against 420,000 individuals, up 27 percent year-on-year.

On Friday, Liu Hui, a former national political adviser and ministerial-level official, became the latest among 36 centrally administered officials who were placed under disciplinary and supervisory investigation since the start of this year.

Centrally administered officials are senior officials under the direct management of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. They include provincial-level and ministerial-level officials, senior leaders of centrally managed State-owned enterprises, and top officials in central Party and government departments, the judiciary, and the military.

The anti-corruption measures demonstrate the Party's determination to continue the fight against graft, regardless of whether "tigers" (senior corrupt officials) or lower-level "flies" (low-ranking officials) are implicated, experts said.

Systematic reforms have been deepened in sectors with concentrated power, capital and resources, including State-owned enterprises, infrastructure, energy, firefighting, higher education and healthcare, according to the watchdogs.

Strict investigations and punishments have also been carried out for violations of discipline and law by leaders and members of leadership teams at various levels.

Zhuang Deshui, deputy head of Peking University's Research Center of Public Policy, said the increase in numbers compared to last year reflects stricter governance and enhanced anti-corruption efforts. "It also highlights the significant results achieved through targeted reform and educational campaigns within the Party," he said.

Among the filed cases, 43 involved officials at provincial and ministerial levels, 2,335 at department and bureau levels, 20,000 at county and division levels, and 68,000 at the township level. Additionally, 48,000 current or former village Party branch secretaries and village committee directors are under investigation.

Among those punished were 30 provincial and ministerial-level officials, with 298,000 individuals from rural areas, enterprises and other sectors penalized. Grassroots corruption accounted for 70 percent of the punishments.

Authorities also used various forms of oversight and discipline enforcement to criticize, educate and handle about 843,000 individuals in the first half of the year, marking a significant increase from the same period last year and reflecting a shift from targeting a small minority to managing the majority, the commission said.

"China's anti-corruption efforts cover a wide range of areas and ensure full coverage. While high-level officials have a greater influence on the political ecosystem, problems involving grassroots officials directly affect people," Zhuang said. "The focus is on addressing corruption issues that affect people's daily lives, ensuring that these efforts are carried through to the end."

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At its fourth plenary session in January, the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection emphasized the need to continue tackling misconduct and corruption that affects people's daily lives while maintaining pressure on addressing petty corruption.

The data also showed that 16,000 individuals were placed under investigation for offering bribes in the first half of the year, reflecting stronger efforts to combat both bribery and corruption.

"The persistence in combating corruption for over a decade is a remarkable achievement, made possible by the Party's strong determination and its institutional advantage in thoroughly implementing reform," Zhuang said.

Contact the writer at lishangyi@chinadaily.com.cn