Supervising the supervisors

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, approved extending a pilot corruption supervision program nationwide as part of the vow to "put the supervisory power in the cage of institutions".

It means that by early 2018, supervisory commissions will be set up by the people's congress at provincial, city and county levels across the country to ensure that all public servants exercising public power are subject to supervision. Such a program has already been piloted in Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Beijing, since early this year.

According to the program, the relevant functions of administrative supervisory organs and anti-graft agencies will be integrated into the supervisory commissions, which, being directly responsible to same-level people's congresses, are endowed with supervision, investigation and other powers.