China Reprimanded About 4,300 Officials In April For Disciplinary Violations

The ruling Chinese party reprimanded about 4,300 officials in April citing disciplinary violations, the Communist Party of China’s official graft watchdog said Sunday. This comes as President Xi Jinping continues his campaign to crack down on corruption in the country.

In March, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection probed 3,115 discipline violations, conducted inspections across 31 regions, 139 central and state bodies, 106 government enterprises and 15 state financial institutions, according to its statement cited by Sputnik news. More than 1.65 million officials have been punished in the first three months of this year, the report said.

Earlier this month, the commission said it punished 300,000 officials last year amid the corruption crackdown. The watchdog had said that 200,000 party members were given “light punishment,” while 82,000 received “heavy punishment.” However, the number of officials punished in 2015 for corruption is comparatively small given the ruling party’s 88 million members.

The commission was formed to fight corruption and other wrongdoing within the ranks of the ruling party. The watchdog carries out internal investigations prior to deciding whether to transfer the case to judicial authorities.

Since Xi assumed office in 2012, he has launched a campaign to fight corruption, mainly targeting high-level officials in the Communist Party, the armed forces and state-run enterprises.