(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-25 19:38

BEIJING  -- A total of 2,111 officials have been punished for misconduct from January 2007 to January 2008 during the reshuffles of local governments, legislatures and political advisory bodies, the Communist Party of China (CPC) said here on Tuesday.

Among them, 1,948 officials have received discipline punishment and another 163 were given administrative punishment including suspension, demotion or removal from their posts.

The 1,885 cases of malpractice such as bribery have been uncovered during the period, according to a national meeting jointly held by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

The provincial, city, county and township governments, branches of the People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have undergone leadership elections and reshuffles as many of the officials have finished their five-year terms.

The two departments specially issued circulars warning officials against corruption in the reshuffle in the past months.

They promised to seriously punish those found selling and buying government posts or offering bribes for higher positions in a bid to create "a clean and upright environment for elections".

Since 2006, the CCDI and the Organization Department had made public 34 cases of illegal activities during local leadership reshuffles. They were seen as a move to deter similar corrupt practices in elections.

The public was encouraged to call the "12380" hotline to report any malpractice and corrupt candidates during local leadership selection.

The public had played a critical role in supervising the officials through the hotline, e-mails and letters, the authorities said.