The Communist Party of China (CPC) has pledged to take stricter measures to improve the Party's work style and prevent corrupt activities by leading officials. The measures were worked out at the Seventh Plenary Meeting of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which was convened in Beijing January 23-25, according to a communique adopted at the end of the meeting.

Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, made an important speech at the meeting, which was also attended by other members of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Li Peng, Zhu Rongji, Li Ruihuan, Hu Jintao, Wei Jianxing and Li Lanqing.

The meeting examined and approved a work report delivered by Wei Jianxing on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Wei is the secretary of the commission.

At the meeting, the participants summed up last year's experience in the fields of improving the Party's work style and building a clean government, and fighting against corruption, and made new arrangements for the tasks in 2002, the communique says.

They hailed Jiang's speech, saying that it is of great importance for strengthening the Party building, improving the Party work style and building a clean government and pushing forward the anti-corruption campaign in a down-to-earth manner.

In 2001, the Party exercised a powerful leadership in improving the Party's work style, building a clean government and in the fight against corruption. A series of arrangements were made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council to deepen the reform and step up the efforts to wipe out corruption.

These efforts resulted in curbing the spread of corruption and step-by-step resolving of deep-seated factors causing corruption, according to the communique.

The communique says that in 2002, a year of great importance for the history of the Party and the nation, which will witness the convening of the 16th National Congress of the CPC, efforts will be made to achieve new progress in improving the Party's style of work and building a clean and honest government, and in the anti-corruption campaign. The Party will take further measures to curb corrupt activities, the communique says.

Further efforts will be made to ensure the honesty of leading officials by strengthening supervision and inspection. Greater efforts should be made to deal with major corruption cases, especially in the fields of finance, securities, real estate, personnel and judiciary work. Those involved in serious violations of political discipline will be severely punished.

Efforts will be made to curb irregularities in pharmaceuticals production and circulation, reduce the financial burden on farmers, and curb illegal charges levied by highway administration departments and schools.

In order to curb corruption by officials, various departments and regions should, in accordance with the Party's requirement, accelerate the reform of the administrative system, adopt open bidding and government procurement, deepen the reform of the financial system, and push forward the reform of the personnel system, according to the communique.

In 2002, the Chinese people will enjoy greater democracy, as all county-level governments and some prefecture-level authorities will be asked to allow the public to learn about their work, the communique says.

The communique stresses the importance of abiding by the Party's political discipline and upholding the authority of the CPC Central Committee with Jiang Zemin at the core, so as to ensure the smooth implementation of the central policies and orders, and achieve new progress in improving the Party's work style and building a clean and honest government.

(People's Daily January 26, 2002)