Party's top discipline watchdog summarizes its work for upcoming 19th National Congress

A plenary session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Party's top discipline watchdog, approved a work report on Oct 9 to be submitted to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opens on Oct 18 in Beijing.

The report, summarizing five years of commission work, was also to be reviewed by the 18th CPC Central Committee at its seventh plenary meeting, which began on Oct 11.

A total of 119 CCDI members attended the Eighth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in Beijing on Oct 9, according to a statement.

Wang Qishan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CCDI, addressed the session.

CCDI members also approved the punishment of two senior officials for discipline violations, the statement said.

Li Gang was placed on one year of probation within the Party, and Qu Shuhui was given two years of probation within the Party, due to "serious violations of Party discipline", according to the statement.

A decision to remove Liu Shengjie from CCDI membership was also adopted. The statement did not disclose details on the three officials.

Since members of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection were elected in late 2012, the commission has undertaken a massive campaign against corruption and extravagance.

At its seventh plenary session in January, President Xi Jinping concluded that corruption had stopped spreading in China and a "crushing momentum" against graft had taken shape.

Jiang Laiyong, a senior researcher at the China Anti-Corruption Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the campaign has made fruitful progress in the past five years, and it has laid a solid foundation for the country's revival.

"China's anti-corruption drive has played an essential role in consolidating the country's political stability and has boosted people's confidence in sustainable social and economic development," he says. The current high level of pressure being applied against graft is expected to last even though a new CCDI is expected to be elected at the 19th CPC National Congress, Jiang adds.

More attention also should be paid to low-ranking officials so that more people can feel and share the anti-graft fruits, he suggests.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

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(China Daily European Weekly 10/13/2017 page14)