Nation pledges sustained anti-corruption campaign

China will maintain a tough stance against corruption and tighten oversight on the exercise of power while improving mechanisms to incentivize and protect officials who take responsibility and act proactively, senior officials said on Friday.

The commitments form part of a resolution adopted at the fifth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which concluded on Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference in Beijing on Friday, Zhang Fuhai, deputy secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and deputy head of the National Commission of Supervision, said the fight against corruption has achieved and consolidated an overwhelming victory since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

Over that period, discipline inspection and supervisory organs across the country filed 8.105 million cases and punished 7.922 million people, including 963 officials registered at and supervised by the CPC Central Committee, he said.

But Zhang cautioned that the fight against corruption remains serious and complicated, and eradicating the breeding ground for corruption remains a formidable task.

"The resolution suggests that we must steadfastly follow a distinctive Chinese path to combating corruption," he said.

According to Zhang, the resolution calls for intensifying anti-corruption efforts in areas with a high concentration of power, funds and resources. Efforts will focus on cases involving connected political and economic misconduct, collusion between officials and business people, and the infiltration of capital into the political realm.

Authorities will also dig deep into new and disguised manifestations of corruption, and tackle on a regular basis misconduct and corruption that occurs at people's doorsteps, he said.

Alongside punishment, the resolution calls for stronger institutional checks on power, greater efforts to champion integrity and disdain corruption, and better use of lessons from individual corruption cases to improve conduct and tighten discipline.

To see that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity or desire to commit corruption, Zhang said that strong deterrence, strengthened oversight on the exercise of power and integrity education must work together, with institutional improvements and technology helping make these efforts more effective.

"The distinctive Chinese path to combating corruption is a profound summary of the historic achievements of the anti-corruption battle in the new era, and a guide to win this difficult, enduring and overall battle against corruption," he added.

The news conference also addressed a related concern: how to prevent officials from becoming reluctant to act for fear of being held accountable.

Huang Jianfa, executive deputy head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, said full and rigorous Party self-governance and encouraging enterprise are inherently intertwined.

"For officials, strict management is not only a restraint, but also protection," Huang said. "Harsh punishment of corrupt officials is also an incentive and protection of those good officials."

He acknowledged that some officials failed to act or were slow in taking action because they lacked motivation, feared consequences or were just incompetent.

The resolution seeks to address these problems by following sound guidelines for appointing officials, improving assessment and evaluation mechanisms, implementing policies to care for officials, and strengthening incentive and protection mechanisms to encourage enterprise and initiative, Huang said.

Assessments should distinguish between those who deliver results and those who fail to do their jobs, rather than treating them alike, he said.

Huang also highlighted measures to deal seriously with false accusations and frame-ups and promptly clear the names and redress reputation of those falsely accused.

"When our officials step forward to act, the Party will have their back," he said.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn