The organization department of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Central Committee announced in Beijing on Thursday that 1,968
officials have been punished for wrongdoing during the reshuffle of
local governments, legislatures and political advisory bodies.
They have received administrative and discipline punishment and
some are even facing criminal charges, said the Organization
Department of the CPC Central Committee in a press release.
Organization departments on all levels have investigated about
25,000 complaints since the reshuffle began in 2006 and found
1,844 cases of malpractice, the statement said.
The city, county and township governments, branches of the
People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC) were undergoing leadership elections and
reshuffle as many officials had finished their five-year term.
The work would be done at the provincial level in the first half
of next year.
The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee
announced earlier this month that a senior official in north
China's Hebei provincial government, whose name was not made
public, was dismissed for buying votes by "giving out gifts,
paying home visits to people concerned and inviting them out for
dinners".
Late last month, the department specially issued a circular that
warned officials against using corrupt methods to gain
promotions.
In a bid to create "a clean and upright environment for
elections" the circular pledged to seriously punish those found
buying and selling government posts or offering bribes to
acquire higher positions.
It also asked local party committees to conduct joint
efforts with the CPC's discipline inspection committees to firmly
curb illicit activities during elections.
The public was encouraged to call the "12380" hotline to report
any malpractice and/or corrupt candidates during the local
leadership reshuffle.
The public played a critical role in supervising
officials via the hotline, e-mails and letters, together with
the media, the statement said.
In the Hebei case, the Organization Department said that it had
received tips from local people and then started a probe into the
case.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2007)