China says over a million officials being probed for graft

Hong Kong [China], Oct.24 (ANI). The Communist Party of China (CPC) is holding holding its sixth plenary session on Monday, and ahead of this event, the party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) has confirmed reports that 1.01 million officials have been investigated for graft from 2013 to September 2016. Experts said that China sees its anti-corruption campaign as a political accomplishment and key to maintaining the party's leadership, reports the government mouthpiece Global Times. So far, eight corrupt officials at the ministerial level or above have been sentenced to various prison terms. The sixth plenary is expected to review two drafts concerning the comprehensive and strict management of the party, a draft on the intra-party political life under the new situation, and amendments to an intra-party supervision regulation, the Xinhua News Agency reported. During the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for the CCDI in May, President Xi Jinping said that the party has given full play to inspection groups and has exerted greater efforts in pursuing fugitives and recovering stolen assets. Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security show that 409 fugitives were apprehended overseas during operation Fox Hunt in 2016, 15 of whom were on the list of the 100 most-wanted. The Chinese government has said that it will continue to pile on the pressure to expose hidden corrupt officials. The Global Times quoted Zhi Zhenfeng, associate research fellow at the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as saying that the people are keen that the government not only go after the "tigers" but also the "flies". The CPC released its eight-point rules on austerity in late 2012 to reduce pomp, ceremony, bureaucracy and other undesirable work practices. (ANI with inputs)