Strict Party governance leads to increased disciplinary crackdown

As China continues efforts to exercise full and rigorous governance over the Party, a total of 73 officials at provincial or ministerial level or above received disciplinary investigations in the past year, the country's top anti-corruption watchdogs said on Friday.

Last year, 889,000 officials nationwide were given disciplinary punishments for various problems, marking an increase from the total of 610,000 people over the previous year, according to data released by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.

The majority of these disciplinary actions stem from reports and complaints received by the supervisory authorities, totaling approximately 3.56 million cases last year. Among these, 877,000 cases were filed for investigation, surpassing the 626,000 cases from 2023, data showed.

A notable trend in the rigorous governance of the Party is the extension of scrutiny to the grassroots level. In 2024, a total of 104,000 current or former village party secretaries and village committee directors were investigated and filed for disciplinary action, a substantial increase from the 61,000 such cases in the previous year.

Additionally, 613,000 individuals from rural areas, enterprises, and other sectors faced disciplinary measures in 2024, a notable rise from the 417,000 individuals in 2023, data showed.

The authorities continue to emphasize the investigation of those who gave bribes while dealing with corruption cases. In 2024, 26,000 individuals were investigated for giving bribes, compared to 17,000 individuals in the previous year.