China’s Efforts to Combat Corruption and Build a Clean Government

Information Office of the State Council The People’s Republic of China

December 2010, Beijing

Contents

Preface

I.Unswervingly Pushing forward the Undertaking of Com-bating Corruption and Building a Clean Government

II.Leadership System and Working Mechanism for Com-bating Corruption and Building a Clean Government

III.Legal Framework for Combating Corruption and Build-ing a Clean Government

IV.Power Restraint and Supervisory System

V.Prevention of Corruption through System Reform and Institutional Innovation

VI.Handling Cases of Corruption in Accordance with Law and Discipline

VII. Education in Clean Government and Construction of the Culture of Integrity

VIII. International Exchanges and Cooperation in Combating Corruption

Conclusion

Preface

Corruption is a socio-historical phenomenon, an inveterate global ailment and an issue of great concern to the general public. It is the firm stance of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government to combat corruption and build a clean government.

The CPC and the Chinese government have been resolutely combating corruption and building a clean government since the founding of the People’ Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Since the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy some 30 years ago, especially since the beginning of the 21st century, China’s social productive forces have been developing at a high speed, with the overall national strength notably increasing and the people’s living standards greatly improving. China’s international status and influence have been enhanced remarkably, and great achievement has been made in the socialist construction of econ-omy, politics, culture, society and ecological civilization. In com-bating corruption and building a clean government, China adheres to the principle of addressing both the symptoms and the root causes of corruption, and taking comprehensive measures to rectify both, combining punishment with prevention while focusing on the latter. It has set up a system for corruption punishment and preven-tion and attached special importance to the rectification of the root causes and prevention of corruption and institutional improvement in combating corruption. It is trying to broaden work areas to pre-vent corruption at the source and gradually build a long-term mechanism of education for corruption prevention, a system of combating corruption and building a clean government, and a monitoring mechanism over the exercise of power. A new way of combating corruption and building a clean government that con-forms to China’s national conditions and displays Chinese charac-teristics has taken shape.

So far, China’s effort to combat corruption and build a clean government, which is managed systematically and promoted comprehensively, has yielded notable results. In the course of carrying out this work intensively, the interests of the state, the general public and citizens have been effectively protected, the situation for reform, development and stability has been constantly consolidated, and great strides have been made towards a strong, prosperous, democratic, harmonious and culturally advanced modern socialist state.

As dramatic changes have been taking place in China’s eco-nomic system, social structure, the pattern of interests, and people’s ideas and concepts, various social contradictions have become in-creasingly prominent. Since the relevant mechanisms and systems are still incomplete, corruption persists, some cases even involving huge sums of money. Breaches of law and discipline tend to be more covert, intelligent and complicated. The situation in combat-ing corruption is still very serious, and the tasks are still abundant.

The CPC and the Chinese government always keep a clear vision of the long-haul, complicated and arduous nature of the undertaking of combating corruption and building a clean govern-ment. They will continue to follow the overall plan to establish and perfect the system of punishment and prevention of corruption, resolutely punish and effectively prevent corruption with more resolutions and powerful measures, so as to win the people’s con-fidence with actual achievements in the anti-corruption campaign.

I. Unswervingly Pushing forward the Undertaking of Combating Corruption and Building a Clean Government

Combating corruption and building a clean government is re-lated to China’s national development, the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people, social fairness, justice, harmony and stability. It is the consistent stand of the CPC and the Chinese government to resolutely punish and effectively prevent corruption, and endeavor to build a clean government.

Shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China established state procuratorial organs, government supervisory organs and organs for discipline inspection in the CPC, and promulgated a series of laws and regulations, including the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and Regula-tions of the People’s Republic of China for Suppression of Cor-ruption. The system and mechanism for combating corruption and building a clean government were basically in place. In order to guarantee the purity of the new people’s political power, China launched the Three-anti Campaign (anti-corruption, anti-waste and anti-bureaucracy within the Party, government, army and mass organizations) and the Five-anti Campaign (against bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on government contracts, and stealing economic information from the end of 1951 to Octo-ber 1952. Through these measures, those guilty of bribery and cor-ruption were seriously punished, and a clean, just and lively at-mosphere was fostered.

In the late 1970s, China began to carry out the reform and opening-up policy. The reform and opening-up is a process of great social reform from a highly-centralized planned economy to a so-cialist market economy full of vigor, from a closed or semi-closed state to a state fully opened up to the outside world, which greatly liberated and developed the productive forces, and inspired social vigor. In this process corruption arose to some extent. Facing the new tests and challenges, China has implemented the policy of punishing corruption while making efforts to develop the economy, and carried out a series of special campaigns against such serious economic crimes as smuggling, illegal arbitrage of foreign exchange, embezzlement and taking bribes. A number of laws and regulations, including the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, were promulgated, together with the establishment of auditing bodies, thus further improving the system of combating corruption and building a clean government, and exploring new ways and methods of combating corruption under the aegis of the law in the new circumstance of reform and opening-up.

In the 1990s, China started to establish the socialist market economic system. Facing rampant corruption arising in the process of system transition, China made the decision to intensify efforts in opposing corruption and established a work pattern in anti-corruption that covered three aspects, i.e., ensuring leading cadres are incor-ruptible and self-disciplined, investigating and dealing with all breaches of law and discipline, and rectifying malpractices in various trades and departments. It was explicitly stated that both symptoms and root causes of corruption should be addressed, with education as the basis, laws as the guarantee and supervision as the key, and the soil that breeds corruption should be continuously re-moved through deepening reform. A number of laws and regula-tions on combating corruption and building a clean government were enacted, thus further improving the anti-corruption system. Anti-corruption and anti-bribery departments, departments dealing with dereliction of duty, malfeasance and infringement of citizens’ rights were set up in the procuratorial organs. Many major deci-sions were made in this regard, including the decision to ban any-one in the army, public security forces or procuratorial, judicial or public security organs to engage in business transactions. Reforms in the structures, mechanisms and systems were carried out re-garding administrative examination and approval, financial man-agement, cadre and personnel affairs, etc. In addition, regulations were formulated to make government work, enterprise affairs and village affairs known to the public. The work of combating corrup-tion and building a clean government has embarked on a road that features addressing of both symptoms and root causes of corrup-tion, comprehensive treatment and gradual intensification of efforts to eliminate the root causes.

Since the start of the 21st century, China has placed in a more prominent position the work of combating corruption and building a clean government, adopted the principle of addressing both symptoms and root causes of corruption, enforcing comprehensive treatment, giving simultaneous stresses to punishment and preven-tion while giving priority to prevention, and establishing the na-tional anti-corruption strategy by setting up and perfecting a system of punishment and prevention of corruption to comprehen-sively promote this undertaking. In work arrangement, stress has been given to strictly investigating and punishing all violations of the law and discipline, earnestly handling problems concerning leading cadres’ honesty and self-discipline, resolutely rectifying malpractices that bring damage to the people’s interests, enacting and improving laws and systems on combating corruption and building a clean government, and making great efforts in promot-ing reforms in major areas and key links. The National Bureau of Corruption Prevention of China has been established to take over-all responsibility for the anti-corruption work in all aspects. Efforts are being made to raise the ethical standards of citizens and foster a culture of integrity so as to foster values and concepts upholding integrity among the public. Such values are being promoted in ru-ral areas, enterprises, schools, public institutions, and urban com-munities, and the mechanism of risk prevention and control related to combating corruption is being established. In combating corrup-tion and building a clean government, China is more explicit in direction, clearer in thought, and more effective in measures. On the whole, it shows a good trend of development.

After constant explorations in this field, China has gained a better understanding of and accumulated rich experience in com-bating corruption and building a clean government, which has promoted the country’s rapid economic development and social stability. According to a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, from 2003 to 2010, Chinese citizens’ rate of satisfaction with the work of combating corruption and building a clean gov-ernment rose steadily from 51.9% to 70.6%, and the percentage of citizens who thought corruption had been kept down to varying extents increased from 68.1% to 83.8%. Moreover, the efforts China has made in this regard have got positive comments from the international community.

II. Leadership System and Working Mechanism for Combating Corruption and Building a Clean Government

China’s leadership system and working mechanism for com-bating corruption and building a clean government is determined by the systems of the state and government. In the practice of combating corruption and building a clean government over the years, China has put into place a leadership system and a working mechanism with Chinese characteristics, in which Party commit-tees take unified leadership of the work, the Party and government both administer it, discipline inspection commissions of the Party organize and coordinate it, different departments take their due re-sponsibilities related to it, and the masses support and participate in the endeavor.

The CPC is the ruling party of China, and thus the effort to combat corruption and build a clean government is under the lead-ership of the CPC. The Party rules the country in a scientific and democratic manner, and in accordance with the law, and conducts its activities within the framework of the Constitution and laws.

Throughout the history of revolution, construction and reform, the Party has always conscientiously made the work of combating corruption and building a clean government a priority task. Par-ticularly since the reform and opening-up policies were introduced, the CPC Central Committee has formulated a series of strategies, principles and policies related to the work. Since 1993 the CPC Central Committee has been making arrangements for the work of combating corruption and building a clean government in the whole Party and country at annual plenary sessions of its Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The State Council holds a working conference on building a clean government every year to make arrangements in the government system. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have issued and revised the Pro-visions on the Responsibility System for Improving the Party’s Style of Work and Upholding Integrity, specifying that leading groups and cadres at different levels should do a good job of com-bating corruption and building a clean government within their scope of duty in line with the principle of “taking responsibility for what he/she takes charge of” and that whoever violates the Provi-sions should be held accountable. To meet the requirements of the CPC Central Committee, local Party committees and governments incorporate the work of combating corruption and building a clean government into the overall plans of economic and social devel-opment, and into various reforms and policies, and arrange, carry out, examine and evaluate it together with the work of reform and development, thus ensuring that the work of combating corruption and building a clean government moves on steadily and effectively.

Public support and participation is an important foundation for the success of combating corruption and building a clean govern-ment. Social organizations, news media and the broad masses of the people play a significant role in making suggestions and offer-ing advices, participating in supervision, and uncovering corruption.

In China, the major functional bodies for combating corruption and building a clean government are the Party’s organs for disci-pline inspection, judicial organs of the state, supervisory and au-diting organs of the government, and the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention of China.

The Party’s commissions for discipline inspection at all levels are special organs for intra-Party oversight set up in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, and their members are elected by the Party congresses at the corresponding levels. As major organs for combating corruption and building a clean government, these commissions undertake the following major tasks: Upholding the Constitution and other statutes of the Party; inspecting the implementation of the lines, principles, poli-cies and resolutions of the Party; and assisting the respective Party committees to improve the Party’s style of work, and in organizing and coordinating the work against corruption. Their routine work includes providing education for Party members on their duty to observe Party discipline; overseeing the exercise of power by Party members holding leading positions; examining and dealing with cases in violation of Party discipline; dealing with complaints and appeals made by Party members; and guaranteeing the rights of Party members. The Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection functions under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Party. The Party’s local commissions for discipline inspec-tion at all levels and primary commissions for discipline inspection function under the dual leadership of the Party committees at the corresponding levels and the commissions for discipline inspection at the next higher level.

The people’s courts and people’s procuratorates are both judi-cial organs of the state set up in accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. The former exercise judicial power independently, while the latter exercise procuratorial power independently, neither being subject to interference by administra-tive organs, public organizations or individuals. As judicial organs of the state, the people’s courts try in accordance with the law all criminal cases, including cases of embezzlement, bribery and dere-liction of duty considered to involve corruption, make timely and fair court decisions on cases of embezzlement, bribery and derelic-tion of duty that the procuratorial organs initiate public prosecution, and punish crimes of corruption in accordance with the law. As state organs for legal supervision, the people’s procuratorates pursue liabilities of criminal acts, investigate state functionaries suspected of embezzlement and bribery, dereliction of duty, en-croachment of right and other duty-related crimes, prevent duty-related crimes, and submit public prosecutions to people’s courts on behalf of the state in accordance with the law. The Su-preme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate also direct the trial and procuratorial work of corruption cases by means of judicial interpretations. The people’s procuratorates and the people’s courts offer timely procuratorial and judicial suggestions respectively to departments and organs concerned on major issues relating to duty-related crimes arising in the course of investigation and trial of cases.

Supervisory organs of the government are set up in accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China to exercise the power of supervision. They supervise over law enforcement by and integrity and efficiency of state administrative organs, their staff members and other personnel appointed by these organs, or-ganizations empowered by laws or regulations to administer public affairs and their personnel engaged in public service, and organiza-tions entrusted by state administrative organs in accordance with the law to administer public affairs and their personnel.

Auditing organs are supervisory organs through auditing set up in accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. They supervise through auditing in accordance with the law the revenues and expenditures of all departments under the State Council and of local governments at all levels, and those of the state financial and monetary organizations and of state-owned en-terprises and public institutions. China has also put into place a system of economic accountability auditing to supervise major leaders of state organs and other organs to be audited in accordance with the law.

The National Bureau of Corruption Prevention of China is an organ that the Chinese government has specially set up to take overall responsibility for the work of corruption prevention. Its major responsibilities are to organize and coordinate the national work of corruption prevention, make overall plans in this regard, formulate relevant policies, examine and direct the work, coordi-nate and direct the work of corruption prevention in enterprises, public institutions, social groups, intermediate agencies and other social organizations, and take charge of international cooperation and technical assistance in this regard.

Public security organs, financial institutions and other relevant departments and organizations also undertake the work of combat-ing corruption and building a clean government within the scope of their duties and in accordance with the law.

In the work of combating corruption and building a clean government, the above organizations with different functions are independent in performing their duties and, at the same time, co-ordinate and collaborate with one another. The Party’s commis-sions for discipline inspection take disciplinary measures against Party members who violate Party discipline, after making investi-gations and collecting evidence. For those suspected of crimes, the commissions transfer them to judicial organs. Supervisory organs of the state administer punishment to those violating government discipline, and transfer those suspected of having committed crimes to judicial organs. Public security organs, auditing organs and ad-ministrative law-enforcement organs transfer those who violate laws or Party or government discipline to judicial organs, the Party’s commissions for discipline inspection, or the supervisory organs of the state, depending on the specific circumstances. The people’s courts and people’s procuratorates transfer to the Party’s commissions for discipline inspection or the supervisory organs of the state evidence and materials related to violation of Party or government discipline found in their work.

These organs in China shoulder such important responsibilities as combating corruption and building a clean government, and safeguarding social fairness and justice. In recent years, these or-gans have taken strict measures to improve the requirement stan-dards, education, management and supervision of personnel for law and discipline enforcement. To be specific, by strengthening inter-nal management and enactment of rules, the mechanism of restraint and supervision has been improved, and personnel for law and dis-cipline enforcement have been urged to use their power impartially and be strict with themselves. By promoting the principle of trans-parency in power exercise and the system of supervisors for build-ing a clean government, the personnel for law and discipline enforcement have been encouraged to foster the sense of conscien-tious acceptance of supervision from all quarters, so as to con-stantly improve their capabilities and levels in law and discipline enforcement, thus providing the

III. Legal Framework for Combating Corruption and Building a Clean Government

China adheres to the rule of law as a fundamental principle, at-taches importance to the regulating and safeguarding role of laws and regulations, and continuously promotes legalization and stan-dardization in the fight against corruption and the building of a clean government. Based on the Constitution of China, a series of laws and regulations have been enacted for combating corruption and building a clean government, and based on the Constitution of the CPC, a series of intra-Party rules and regulations have been worked out, thus gradually establishing a legal framework for combating corruption and building a clean government with scien-tific contents, rigorous procedures, well-matched regulations and effective administration.

In order to ensure that leading cadres work in a clean and hon-est way, the CPC has issued a series of codes of conduct and ethi-cal rules for Party members who hold leading positions, and is building and improving a system to prevent conflicts of interest. The Guidelines of the Communist Party of China for Party-member Leading Cadres to Perform Official Duties with Integrity, released for trial implementation in 1997 and for implementation after revi-sion in 2010, clearly prohibit Party-member leading cadres engag-ing in profit-making activities and seeking illegitimate gains by taking advantage of their positions and power in violation of the established rules. The Guidelines have provided relatively com-prehensive regulations on Party-member leading cadres in per-forming their official duties with integrity under the conditions of the socialist market economy, and have thus become the basic in-tra-Party rules regulating the behavior of Party-member leading cadres. In view of the new situation and problems arising in power-for-money cases, the CPC promulgated the Regulations of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Commu-nist Party of China on the Strict Prohibition of Seeking Illegitimate Gains by Misuse of Office in 2007, specifying methods of handling eight types of misconduct of Party-member cadres, including abuse of power for personal gain, which might appear during economic and social interactions. The Regulations on the Executives of State-owned Enterprises for Performing Management Duties with Integrity (Trial) released in 2009 clearly prohibit leading officials of state-owned enterprises to seek profit through misuse of office for either themselves or any related parties, undermine the interests of the enterprises. To regulate leading cadres’ performance of offi-cial duties with integrity, a number of regulations have been prom-ulgated, including the Regulations on Implementing the System of Registration for Gifts Received in Domestic Social Activities by Functionaries of Party and State Organs, which clearly demand that the functionaries of Party and state organs must not accept any gifts or grants that might influence their impartial performance of offi-cial duties; the Regulations on Leading Cadres’ Report of Relevant Personal Matters, which requires leading cadres to honestly report their incomes, housing and investment owned or made either by themselves or together with their spouses and children living with them, as well as the employment status of their spouses and chil-dren; and the Interim Regulations on Strengthening Management of State Functionaries Whose Spouses and Children Have Emi-grated Abroad. These regulations play an important role in safe-guarding the national interests and in the management of Party members and state functionaries in accordance with the law, as well as in enhancing the sense of leading cadres in performing their official duties with integrity.

To ensure the proper exercise of public power, China has en-acted a series of laws and regulations to strengthen restraint and supervision over the exercise of power by leading cadres. The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Supervision of Standing Committees of People’s Congresses at All Levels enacted in 2007 strengthened the supervisory role of those committees in the form of law over the administrative, judicial and procuratorial powers of the people’s governments, people’s courts and people’s procurator-ates at corresponding levels. Also enacted are the Law of the Peo-ple’s Republic of China on Administrative Supervision, Audit Law of the People’s Republic of China, Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People’s Republic of China, Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China to establish the systems of administrative supervision, audit supervision, administrative re-consideration and administrative procedure to strengthen supervi-sion over the administrative organs and their staff. The CPC Central Committee formulated the Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Intra-Party Supervision (Trial), Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Inspection Work (Trial), Interim Measures on Conducting Admonition Talks and Written Inquiries with Party-member Leading Cadres, and Interim Regulations on Report by Party-member Leading Cadres on Their Work and Integ-rity, institutionalizing and improving various aspects of intra-Party supervision.

To crack down on corruption in line with law and discipline, China have been enacting and continuously improving substantive laws and regulations that punish violations of law and discipline, including criminal punishment, Party discipline and administrative discipline. In the case of criminal punishment, by formulating and revising the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, the liabilities of corruption-related crimes, such as embezzlement, bribery, dereliction of duty, holding a huge amount of property with an unidentified source, have been defined. The Supreme Peo-ple’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate have worked out relevant judicial interpretations for the law, making them an important legal basis for punishing crimes of corruption. In the case of Party discipline, the CPC promulgated the Regulations on Disciplinary Sanctions of the Communist Party of China and sup-porting provisions, which clearly define conducts of Party mem-bers that go against the Party’s stipulations for clean government and self-discipline, embezzlement and bribery, as well as acts in violation of financial and economic discipline, and prescribe five measures for enforcing Party discipline: explicit warning, stern warning, removal from post within the Party, probation within the Party and expulsion from the Party. In the case of administrative discipline, the state has promulgated the Regulations on the Pun-ishment of Civil Servants in Administrative Organs, which specify the principles, power limit, the types of misconduct and the pun-ishment standards, including explicit warning, recording of demerit, recording of major demerit, demotion, dismissal from post and dis-charge from office.

China attaches great importance to enacting and improving procedural laws to guarantee the enforcement of the aforemen-tioned substantive laws and regulations. The Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, Criminal Procedure of the People’s Procuratorates and Measures of Supervisory Organs for the Investigation and Handling of Administrative Disciplinary Cases by the state legislature, judicial authorities and relevant or-gans, as well as the regulations enacted by the CPC, including the Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Inspection Work of Disciplinary Inspection Organs, provide a legal basis for the ac-ceptance, investigation, trial and appeal work in respect of criminal and discipline-breaching cases, and have established systems of witness and reporter protection, case transfer and coordination, as well as the system of the protection of the rights of the defendants and those being sanctioned.

In addition, China has enacted a series of laws and regulations closely related to corruption prevention. The Administrative Li-cense Law of the People’s Republic of China regulates the es-tablishment and implementation of administrative licenses, and guarantees and supervises the effective administration of adminis-trative organs. The Civil Servant Law of the People’s Republic of China regulates the management of civil servants and strengthens supervision over civil servants, so as to make them diligent and honest in performing their official duties. The Government Pro-curement Law of the People’s Republic of China, Anti-monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China and Bidding Law of the People’s Republic of China regulate administrative discretion and give play to the market’s fundamental role in allocation of re-sources so as to effectively prevent corruption. The Judges Law of the People’s Republic of China, Procurators Law of the People’s Republic of China and People’s Police Law of the People’s Repub-lic of China clearly stipulate the qualifications, administration and supervision of judicial officers, and fortify the requirement of law enforcement with integrity. In accordance with the Constitution and state laws, the various localities and departments have also enacted and issued their own local and departmental regulations to combat corruption, thereby improving the legal framework for combating corruption and building a clean government in China.

To further develop and improve the legal framework for combating corruption and building a clean government, China will attach greater importance to the implementation of laws and regulations, while enacting new laws and regulations and amending existing ones in this regard in accordance with the changing situations in the future.

IV. Power Restraint and Supervisory System

On the principles of reasonable structure, scientific distribution, rigorous procedures and effective restraint, China is gradually es-tablishing a sound power structure and enforcement mechanism featuring both restraint and coordination among decision-making power, executive power and supervisory power to promote proce-dural power exercise featuring transparency and strengthen re-straint and supervision of power exercise. Now, a supervisory system with Chinese characteristics has been established, com-posed of intra-Party supervision in the CPC, supervision by the National People’s Congress and the local people’s congresses (NPCs), supervision within the governments, and democratic su-pervision by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Confer-ence National Committee and local people’s political consultative conferences (CPPCCs), judicial supervision, supervision by the general public and supervision by public opinion. These relatively independent supervision mechanisms collaborate closely with one another to form an integrated force.

The intra-Party supervision of the CPC refers to supervision over leading organs of the CPC at all levels and leading cadres, especially principal leaders of leading bodies at all levels, by the CPC organizations at all levels and all Party members in accor-dance with the Party Constitution and other intra-Party regulations, as well as state laws. The CPC has been unremittingly exploring new measures and methods to enhance intra-Party supervision, and has further improved the 10 systems of intra-Party supervision, including those of collective leadership with individual responsi-bility in line with division of work, notification and report on im-portant matters, democratic meetings of leading Party organizations, as well as question and inquiry. The Central Committee of the CPC and Party committees at the provincial level have all established inspection bodies to inspect and supervise leading organs of the subordinate Party organizations and their members with respect to the implementation of the Party’s line, principles, policies, resolu-tions and decisions, as well as the implementation of the responsi-bility system in improving the Party’s style of work, upholding integrity and combating corruption and their own efforts in being honest and diligent in performing their official duties. The CPC discipline inspection organizations provide unified leadership to their dispatched units to various organizations to strengthen super-vision over the principal cadres of leading bodies of these or-ganizations. Great efforts have been made to develop intra-Party democracy to create advantageous conditions for strengthening intra-Party supervision. Efforts have been made to improve the system of Party congresses so as to bring into better play the role of plenary sessions of the Party committees in making decisions on important matters, and implement and improve the system of the standing committees reporting their work to the plenary sessions of the Party committees regularly and receiving their supervision. Efforts have been made to reform and improve the intra-Party electoral system, define the scope and proportion of competitive recommendation of candidates and competitive election, and gradually expand the scope of direct election for members of lead-ing bodies of grass-roots Party organizations. The Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Protecting the Rights of Party Members has been promulgated for implementation, and it has specified the procedure for Party members to exercise their rights as well as their rights to participate in the intra-Party supervision.

Supervision by the NPCs at all levels refers to supervision over state administrative organs and judicial organs as well as the enforcement of laws by state power organs on behalf of the state and people. The Constitution stipulates that all power in the Peo-ple’s Republic of China belongs to the people. The National Peo-ple’s Congress and the local people’s congresses at various levels are the organs through which the people exercise state power. All administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs of the state are created by the people’s congresses to which they are responsible and by which they are supervised. The people’s congresses exer-cise various functions and powers of supervision conferred by law, and enhance supervision over the governments, courts and pro-curatorates as well as their staff by means of question, inquiry, law-enforcement inspection, hearing and review of working re-ports and budget examination to promote administration according to the law and judicial justice, and prevent and curb all corrupt phenomena.

Internal supervision of governments refers to hierarchical supervision and supervision by specific inspection and audit organs. The hierarchical supervision means supervision by governments and governmental departments at higher levels over those at lower levels, by governments over their various departments and by chief executives over their subordinates. The supervisory organs perform in full their statutory functions and responsibilities, conduct in-spections on law enforcement, clean government and government efficiency, conduct supervision over the supervised bodies in their exercise of functions and powers, performance of duties as well as diligent and honest governance in accordance with the law. Audit-ing organs, in accordance with the law, exercise supervision over the implementation of budgets, final accounts and other fiscal in-comes and payouts of the government. These forms of supervision play an important role in regulating administrative law enforce-ment, promoting administration in accordance with law and build-ing a government under the rule of law.

Supervision by the CPPCCs at all levels is a form of supervi-sion featuring Chinese characteristics. The CPPCC is an important organ of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC. The CPPCCs conduct supervision over the implementation of the Constitution, state laws and regulations, important principles and policies, and performance of duties and observation of law and discipline by state organs and state func-tionaries by means of convening meetings, submitting motions, organizing CPPCC committee members on inspection tours and holding democratic appraisals. Party committees of the CPC and people’s governments at all levels all solicit opinions and sug-gestions from the CPPCCs at corresponding levels and other democratic parties before making crucial decisions and enacting important regulations.

Judicial supervision includes supervision by people’s courts and people’s procuratorates. Supervision by people’s courts refers to supervision over the legality and fairness of the trials of people’s courts conducted by the higher-level people’s courts on lower-level people’s courts and by the Supreme People’s Court on all people’s courts across the country. People’s courts also monitor the legality of specific administrative actions of the governments by way of reviewing administrative cases. Supervision by people’s procura-torates refers to legal supervision over litigation activities and misconduct of state functionaries. People’s procuratorates exercise full-scale supervision over litigation activities in the case registra-tion, investigation, trial, execution of penalties and management of inmates, and exercise supervision over state functionaries by way of investigating such duty-related crimes as embezzlement, bribery, dereliction of duty and infringement of others’ rights.

The Constitution endows citizens with the rights to criticize, advise, appeal, lodge lawsuit against or impeach state organs and state functionaries. In China, the channel is unimpeded for citizens to be involved in the combat against corruption by means of im-peaching and lodging lawsuit. The governments at all levels in China have set up special organs to handle letters and calls of com-plaints as well as opinions, suggestions and accusations from the people. Discipline inspection organs of the CPC at all levels, state procuratorial organs, government supervisory organs and audit or-gans have all established the offence reporting system, opened up offence reporting hotlines and set up offence reporting websites to take reports of misconduct and complaints from the people. The relevant departments, according to laws and discipline, investigate or transfer the clues of reported cases to departments concerned. The state attaches great importance to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the informants while encouraging people to report on cases of corruption. Clear stipulations on protecting in-formants are provided in the Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, Administrative Supervisory Law and intra-Party regulations of the CPC, ruling that the information about the informants must be kept confidential; disclosure of an informant’s identification is strictly banned; and punishment will be meted to anyone who dis-close an informant’s identification and conditions and/or the re-porting materials provided by the informant to the reported department or person, and anyone who retaliates on the informant.

China lays great store by supervision from public opinion. The right to interview and right to supervise through public opinion of news media, including newspapers, television and radio, are pro-tected by law. News media are encouraged to expose unhealthy tendencies of all kinds and violations of law and discipline by Party and government organs as well as their functionaries. The government departments pay great attention to problems reported in the media, actively respond to social concerns and work out so-lutions in time to improve their work. In recent years, with the rapid development and popularity of the Internet, supervision through the Internet has become a new form of supervision by public opinion that spreads quickly, produces great influence and features a wider range of participation. China highly values the positive role played by the Internet in enhancing supervision, conscientiously strengthens the collection, research, judgment and management of information regarding combating corruption and advocating integrity from the Internet. It is making efforts to enact laws and regulations on report websites and improve the accep-tance mechanism and clue application and feedback system of the report websites in order to offer a convenient and unimpeded channel for the public to exercise their right of supervision through the Internet. Meanwhile, efforts are being made to strengthen the management, guidance and standardization of supervision by pub-lic opinion so as to ensure that supervision by public opinion oper-ates along the orbit prescribed by the law.

As sunshine is the best antiseptic, transparency represents the best supervision of power. Since the 1980s, the Chinese govern-ment has proactively implemented the systems of making public government affairs, factory affairs, village affairs, as well as man-agement of public enterprises and institutions. The Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Making Public Government In-formation and some other important statutory documents have been promulgated. The Regulations stipulate that government informa-tion, other than that related to state secrets, business secrets and personal privacy, should be made public in a timely and accurate manner, with the requirement of making public as the principle and holding back as the exception, to guarantee the people’s right to know, participate, express and supervise. The party and state organs and governments of the provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) have all established the news release system and spokes-men/spokeswomen system. Most governments above the county level have established government websites. The state judicial or-gans have established the system of open administration of judicial affairs to ensure openness of court, procuratorial, police and prison affairs, supplying a firm guarantee for strengthening supervision over judicial activities. The CPC actively makes Party affairs pub-lic through promulgating and implementing the Opinions on Mak-ing Party Affairs Public at Grass-roots Organizations, improving the Party affairs, promptly announcing Party affairs, such as im-portant decisions made by Party committees, selection and ap-pointment of Party cadres and the implementation of stipulations on combating corruption and self-discipline measures by leading cadres who are Party members, thus expanding the channel for Party members to be informed of intra-Party affairs and express their individual opinions.