CPC watchdog vows to step up efforts against corruption

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection holds the commission's Fourth Plenary Session in Beijing on Monday, Sept. 20, 2004.

The top watchdog of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Monday vowed to increase its fight against corruption to ensure the Party improves its capacity to govern the nation.

The watchdog, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, made the decision Monday at the commission's Fourth Plenary Session held in Beijing, which passed a communique.

A total of 113 members of the commission were present at Monday's meeting. The session discussed and passed a report made by Wu Guanzheng, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, on behalf of the commission's standing committee.

The watchdog called on the Party to improve the work style of the Party, build a clean government and fight corruption.

The watchdogs were urged to increase their capability of supervision of leading Party cadres, their ability to enforce the Party's disciplines, expand inner-Party democracy and protect the rights and interests of Party members, according to the communique.

The document called for the establishment of a mechanism at an earlier date to punish and prevent corruption through education, institutional arrangements and supervision, which is and will be the major task for the Party to fight corruption at present and a period of time to come.

The mechanism should adapt to the country's market economic system, according to the communique.

The plenum set the outstanding problems the general public complain about as priorities for the commission to deal with in a bid to curb the unhealthy tendency of infringing the interests of the general public.

To crack down harder on corrupt officials, the plenum stressed the need to give priority to the efforts of uncovering the offenses committed by leading Party and government departments and leading officials for personal gains through the abuse of power.

The Party Sunday announced it has expelled Tian Fengshan, former minister of land and resources, from the CPC Central Committee and deprived him of Party membership on corruption charges.

The decision was based on a report on investigation into Tian's case by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which accused Tian of abusing power and taking bribes worth 5.03 million yuan (600,000 US dollars).