Guo Weimin:

Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to today's press conference. As for China's anti-graft campaign which has generated great concern both in China and abroad, the recently concluded sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) made detailed plans, strengthening the discipline and management of the party in the next phase. We have invited leaders from CCDI and the Ministry of Supervision here to interpret the spirit of the meeting and answer your questions

Guo Weimin:

Today, I'm joined by Wu Yuliang, deputy secretary of the CCDI, Xiao Pei, deputy minister of the Ministry of Supervision, Chen Xiaojiang, chief of the CCDI's publicity department, Liu Jianchao, deputy director of the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention and director of the CCDI's International Cooperation Bureau, and Luo Dongchuan, director of the CCDI's case revision office. Now, I'll give the floor to Wu Yuliang.

Wu Yuliang:

Good morning friends from the press! Thank you for attending today's press conference. I'm very glad to brief you on the progress of the anti-graft fight. The sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC CCDI closed Thursday in Beijing after finishing the agenda. General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the meeting, which summarizes the achievements made by strengthening the discipline and management of the party and the anti-graft fight throughout 2015. He pointed out that the majority of party members would never dare corrupt themselves, as they now have a sense of awe and fear, and are unable and unwilling to be corrupt as the overwhelming victory of the campaign is lying ahead. He emphasized that the CPC Central Committee will maintain a heavy-handed approach regarding corruption and its proliferation. He urged all party members to be confident in the resolution, achievements and prospects of the anti-graft fight and its positive influence. The requirements include strict management of the party in a comprehensive way, strengthening discipline and management of the party and the anti-graft fight and exploring effective ways of intra-party supervision so that party members can enhance their capabilities of self-reflection and self-improvement, and so the CPC can strictly govern itself in a true sense. The remarks made by Xi serve as the guideline for upholding the CPC leadership, strengthening the management of the party, governing the party strictly, improving the Party's working style and the successful resolution of the anti-graft drive under the new circumstances.

Wu Yuliang:

On behalf of the standing committee of the CPC CCDI, Wang Qishan, China's top graft-buster, released a work report during the meeting. He reviewed the work in 2015, pointed out current problems, cited work experience since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012 and illustrated plans for the work in 2016.

Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, supervisory departments at all levels are focused on the central tasks of governing the party strictly, strengthening the accountability of discipline supervision and execution, and have accomplished great achievements in 2015.

Wu Yuliang:

First, the CCDI strengthened investigations on violators and clarified political discipline and rules in 2015. The investigations of Zhou Yongkang, Ling Jihua and Su Rong guaranteed the unity of the party. The number of officials given punishment by party and administrative agencies and officials who report to the CPC Central Committee under investigation reached the highest level in 2015 since China's reform and opening-up, with 330,000 cases put on file for investigation, 336,000 people disciplined and 14,000 people handled by judicial departments. The number of officials who report to the CPC Central Committee dealt with by law and the number of those that are under investigation in lawsuits reached 90 with 42 of them being transferred to judicial departments for handling. These senior officials investigated and punished after the 18th CPC National Congress have covered all the 31 municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions across China. A total of 1,023 fugitives were hunted, 18 of which are on the list of the 100 "most wanted." The number of hunted fugitives has surpassed those fleeing overseas in 2015 for the first time. The majority of party members now would never dare corrupt themselves and are unable and unwilling to be corrupt.

Wu Yuliang:

Second, institutional reforms were carried out to keep pace with the times. The CCDI upheld the Party Constitution, governed the party by strict rules and strengthened the role of the institution in 2015. A code of ethics for CPC members was revised as the "Guidelines on Integrity and Self-Discipline of the Communist Party of China". The CCDI also revised the "Disciplinary Measures of the Communist Party of China" maintaining the facts that party disciplines are stricter than laws and should be separate from laws. All party members are set with high-standard rules and made to understand the bottom line of discipline. The "Regulations on Inspection Work of the Communist Party of China" were also revised so as to offer an institutional guarantee for the inspection work.

Wu Yuliang:

Third, the CCDI firmly corrected formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance. Supervision and exposure were strengthened to handle official hospitality, gifts and tourism as well as officials visiting private clubs and playing golf. A total of 37,000 cases and 49,000 party members violating the CPC Central Committee's eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct were dealt with in 2015, with 34,000 punished by the party and administrative agencies.

Wu Yuliang:

Fourth, the concept of "firmly putting discipline first" has produced a marked effect. We adhere to the principle of "helping people learn from past mistakes and avoiding future ones, and curing the 'sickness' to save the patient," innovate the ideas and means of discipline enforcement, and explore the practice of the "Four Patterns." [The term "Four Patterns" refers to a state of disciplinary ideals that the CPC should aim to achieve, namely, to conduct frequent criticism and self-criticism, make light punishment the result for the great majority of cases, reduce serious violations and heavy punishment to a minimum and reduce serious violations that warrant criminal investigation to an extreme minimum.] In 2015, the discipline inspection and supervision departments nationwide handled a total of 54,000 cases. For the officials violating Party discipline, 200,000 were lightly punished and readjusted to their working posts, while 82,000 were severely punished and suffered significant post adjustment. Meanwhile, the accountability system has been promoted and carried out in taking real and earnest actions to fight corruption and build clean governance. More than 15,000 officials from over 850 enterprises as well as departments of the Party and the government nationwide were held to account for discipline violations.

Fifth, self-supervision has proved to be powerful and effective. The discipline inspection and supervision departments at all levels have deepened their reform of government functions as well as their working forms and working styles. These changes are essential in putting themselves in the proper place of discipline supervision and accountability, and will therefore help build a loyal, clean and responsible team of discipline inspection and supervision. Addressing the problems, we must first of all conduct ourselves honorably. Strict management and supervision has been taken to investigate and deal with the problems, during which 2,479 discipline inspection and supervision officials were punished for discipline violations.

The CPC Central Committee unswervingly promotes the campaigns to comprehensively strengthen Party discipline, improve Party conduct, fight corruption and build clean governance. The campaigns of great cohesiveness have enjoyed the ardent support of the people. A public opinion survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2015 shows that 91.5 percent of the people surveyed expressed satisfaction with the Party's work on clean governance building and anti-corruption, 16.5 percentage points higher than in 2012. 90.7 percent of the people surveyed expressed confidence in curbing corruption, 11.4 percentage points higher than in 2012. 90.6 percent of the people surveyed believed that the high incidence of discipline violations has currently been curbed, 5.2 percentage points higher than in 2012. All of these results have set a record high.

The significant results achieved in building clean governance and fighting corruption are attributed to the CPC Central Committee's brilliant leadership, strong will and resolute decisions, the joint efforts of the Party organizations at all levels and all the Party members, the people's support and participation, the hard work and wisdom of the officials from the discipline inspection and supervision departments as well as the inseparable support, supervision and encouragement from the media circle. Overseas media outlets have also given much attention and coverage to the topic. Here, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all our friends from the media circle on behalf of the Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC and the leading group of the Ministry of Supervision. I also hope you will, as always, give us strong support in the future.

Wu Yuliang:

2016 marks the first year that China will implement the "13th Five-Year Plan" in a comprehensive way. The discipline inspection and supervision departments at all levels will follow through with the guiding principles of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the 3rd, 4th and 5th plenary sessions of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC, and implement the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping's major speeches.

We will coordinate and promote the "Four Comprehensives" strategic plan, implement the concepts of innovation-driven development, balanced development, green development, open development and development for all. We will maintain a strong political resolve, adhere to comprehensively strengthening Party discipline, govern the Party by rules and faithfully fulfill the duties entrusted by the Party Constitution. We will focus on supervision and discipline accountability, further address both the symptom and root cause of corruption, encourage the innovation of the system and mechanism, improve the legal system, strengthen the supervision within the Party and firmly put discipline first. We will put into practice the CPC Central Committee's eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct, make our efforts in resolving the improper conduct and corruption of the general public, and resolutely curb the spread of corruption momentum. We will build a loyal, clean and responsible discipline inspection and supervision team to continuously obtain new achievements in improving Party conduct, promoting integrity and fighting corruption.

This year, the discipline inspection and supervision departments at all levels will focus on the following work. Firstly, the strength will not be reduced, the rhythm will not be changed and the scale will not be relaxed. We will continue to maintain high pressure to curb corruption by firmly grasping the "Four Patterns" about supervision and enforcement of discipline. We will focus on leading Party cadres who do not restrain themselves, who have serious problems and are of great concern to the general public, who are in important positions and will be possibly promoted. We will give primary importance to those who have all of these three problems at the same time. We will strengthen the construction to improve Party conduct and uphold integrity at the grassroots level, increase efforts to investigate and deal with the problem that infringes on the interests of the general public, boost international exchange and cooperation in fighting corruption, as well as increase efforts regarding fugitive repatriation and asset recovery.

Secondly, we will deepen our efforts in perseverance and persevere in deepening our efforts. We will persevere in putting into practice the CPC Central Committee's eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct. We will deal with one node after another, insist on senior officials' taking the lead and their subordinates' following suit, and focus on the "key minority." We will severely punish all those who avoid the supervision of the organization, access private clubs and organize secret gatherings. We will pay close attention to new trends and new features of the improper conduct. We will severely punish and never yield a step to the invisible and variant forms of formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance. We will execute discipline more strictly to promote an atmosphere that encourages everyone to continue to improve.

Thirdly, we will implement the inspection work regulations to move toward the target of full coverage. During the past year, we covered the inspection of 31 provinces and municipalities, key central enterprises and financial units. This year, we will realize the full coverage of the inspection of central and state departments to focus on key people and problems. We will review places where the leadership has transited this year to resolutely avoid promoting problematic officials. The main feedback opinions by the inspection team on behalf of the Party organization and the rectification situation of the Party organization being inspected will all be published to society and accept supervision.

Fourthly, we will explore an effective way to strengthen the supervision within the Party under the conditions of the long-term administration of the Party and improve the supervision system. We will adhere to the leadership of the Party, comprehensively strengthen Party discipline, and illuminate the subject and responsibility of supervision. We will revise the regulations of supervision within the Communist Party of China and formulate inner Party accountability regulations, in order to form a mechanism to find problems and correct deviations, as well as enhance the ability of self-purification and self-mediation.

Fifthly, we will deepen system and mechanism reforms and reinforce the responsibility to supervise and govern the Party. We will make accountability a key point in comprehensively strengthening Party discipline and make it normal to highlight these breaches of responsibility. We will promote an overall presence by quickly setting up 47 accredited discipline inspection groups to supervise 139 central-level departments of the Party and the government. The discipline inspection commissions in all provinces and municipalities should also realize the full coverage of accredited discipline inspection groups, as well as improve their abilities of discovering and handling problems.

That's all for my brief introduction. Thank you!

Guo Weimin:

Now the floor is open. Please identify the media outlet you are representing when raising your questions. We have English interpreters for questions raised by foreign media.

CCTV:

We have noticed that the procedure of the 6th plenary session of the 18th CCDI was altered for the first time, inviting President Xi Jinping to be the first keynote speaker. However, during the previous meetings, the first speaker has always been the General Secretary of the CCDI and Xi often spoke at the conclusion. Does the change reveal any valuable information?

Wu Yuliang:

The adjustment of the agenda, which invited President Xi to deliver an opening speech ahead of the report made by the CCDI's General Secretary Wang Qishan,was a deliberate move by the Standing Committee of the CCDI, and it was approved by the Party's Central Committee. According to the Party Constitution, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection carries out work under the leadership of the CPC's Central Committee, and the local commissions for discipline inspection at all levels are led by both the equal level Party committees and commissions for discipline inspectionat a higher level . The keynote speech delivered by President Xi at the beginning of the meeting has been instrumental in allowing us to better understand the guidelines of the CPC's Central Committee and complying with its requirements to set an agenda for our work throughout the year. The adjustment, seemingly a mere change of procedure, actually reflects the political consensus reached between the CCDI and the Central Committee of the CPC. Given the feedback of the Plenum, a consensus after thorough study and discussion has been reached for a much clearer prospect of the future. Therefore, the Plenum is proved to be a fruitful one.Thank you.

In 2015, "big tigers" like Ling Jihua and Zhou Yongkang were taken down. Will the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection maintain this trend in 2016 and take down more officials of such a high level?

Luo Dongchuan:

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Central Committee led by General Secretary Xi Jinping has adhered to the principle that all acts of corruption must be dealt with. We go after both "tigers" and "flies" with an attitude of zero tolerance toward corruption. Our fight against corruption has covered the entire party, with no restricted areas and no ceiling, and we will maintain this high pressure. No one can enjoy privileges similar to a token granted by an emperor or a feudal title like Iron-cap Prince that could exempt holders from punishment. At this plenary session, General Secretary Xi emphasized again that our resolution to crack down on corruption unswervingly has not changed nor has our goal to resolutely curb the spread of corruption.

China Daily:

Some media reports described the anti-corruption campaign as a gust of wind. How would you respond to this?

Chen Xiaojiang:

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary has insisted on the principle of fighting corruption whenever and wherever it exists, and punishing both "big tigers" and "small flies." A number of corrupt officials have been probed and punished, which has won the hearts of the people and the hearts of Party members. The public holds a high regard for these actions. However, the situation for our work to improve Party conduct, build a clean government and battle corruption is still complicated and severe. The Party Central Committee has had no change of determination in pursuing the war against corruption, and the goal to resolutely curb the sprawl of corruption is unwavering. So, we can say the work to improve party conduct and build a clean government is continuously underway. We will maintain an adamant political resolve and walk forward with the same pace, with no change in strength and tempo, and no relaxation in criteria. We will always maintain anti-corruption campaigns at a high pressure level, and resolutely curb the spread of corruption. We will let the people see and enjoy the achievements from our efforts to run the Party strictly, improve Party conduct, build a clean government, as well as fight corruption.

CNN:

In a speech President Xi Jinping made in the United Sates, he said that China's anti-corruption fight is not a "House of Cards"-style power struggle. However, as far as I know, the Party's top discipline inspector Wang Qishan is a big fan of the TV series of that name. Actually, in China and abroad, many people believe China's anti-corruption campaign is a political tool used by the current state leaders to suppress challengers and remove political obstacles. I also noticed that in some recent corruption cases involving high-ranking officials, there is a common charge: making groundless criticisms against the major work plans and policy decisions issued by the Central Committee. For some foreigners, this is hard to understand. What's Mr. Wu's opinion on this issue?

I have another question in relation to this one. You have discovered and punished so many corrupt officials on key posts, and fewer and fewer will be left. You have already turned your attention to "small tigers" and "big flies". What will be your guidelines, targets and focus in future?

Wu Yuliang:

There is a fundamental rule for all Party discipline inspectors: Party discipline must serve as the benchmark, and all judgments must be made on the basis of facts. Therefore, throughout, all the investigations we carried out on officials were based on facts, and involved solid proof. After investigation, all the officials have reflected on their behaviors and have expressed their regrets in written confessions. These officials violated the Party's principles and discipline. They also abandoned the beliefs central to being a Party member. They admitted the charges and accepted the penalties. The anti-corruption campaign has achieved positive social and political effects. About 91.5 percent of the Chinese people have expressed their satisfaction with us. For what? For the success in strengthening Party discipline and the unrelenting efforts we have made to fight corruption.

Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that China's anti-corruption campaign has no resemblance to what you see in the "House of Cards." Why do you continue doubting it? Is the campaign a power struggle or not? My answer is definitely "no," even though you seem to find it hard to understand. A TV series named the Legend of Miyue is popular in China currently. In the era of Miyue, who was supposed to have lived in the Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC), there was an encyclopedic Chinese classic text called the Spring and Autumn Annals. In the book, there was a story about a man who suspected his neighbor of stealing his axe. The man thought the neighbor was guilty as his body language, facial expressions and speech all seemed suspicious. However, when he found the missing axe the next day, everything about the neighbor returned to normal. The man made the mistake because he formed his opinion without sufficient knowledge. The same is true with you. If you have a bias towards China, you will see things in a distorted way. This means that, in your eyes, an anti-corruption campaign illustrates the rule of law in your country but a power struggle in China, I think you have made the same mistake as the man in the story I have just related.

As for the focus of our future work, I have said in my opening speech that there are seven major tasks, including strengthening Party discipline. We will never stop fighting corruption. The top leadership is resolute, and the objective of containing corruption will not change. We will work tirelessly to oppose formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance. Corrupt officials will be punished regardless of their ranks, and the anti-corruption effort will be strengthened at grass-roots level. We will continue the inspection work and be strict in our own conduct. We will also promote legislative works to put the exercise of power under institutional checks. These measures will seek to ensure officials do not dare to be corrupt and are unable and unwilling to engage in corruption. We will carry on with this work, and you will find the details in our communiqué.

People's Daily:

Currently, China is comprehensively promoting the running of the country by law and ruling the Party strictly. The central government leaders have vowed to carry out discipline more strictly than they do law, and separate discipline from law. Mr. Xiao, what do you think of the difference between Party discipline and national law?

Xiao Pei:

The third point of our communiqué illustrates a simple truth that discipline and law should be separate, and discipline should be stricter than and prior to law. I read a review on the film "Mr. Six" on a magazine this morning. In the film, Mr. Six reported corruption to the CCDI and claimed that I didn't call the police, I reported the misconduct to the authority. It's clear that people are aware that discipline and law are different. Reporting to the CCDI is in accordance with discipline, while calling the police is in line with the law. When promoting running the country by law, we need to rule the Party based on discipline. There is an old saying in China, "As a country has its state laws, a family also needs family rules."

Running the country by law means that law is the bottom line, while ruling the Party by discipline means that discipline is the bottom line. Separating discipline from law and making the former stricter than the latter means that any discipline violation, no matter whether light or serious, will be punished and actions will be taken to avoid violation before they emerge as Party members are encouraged to carry out criticism and self-criticism in order to meet the requirements of the CPC central committee and rule the Party seriously and strictly. Thank you!

Phoenix TV:

In regard to the anti-corruption campaign, there are concerns it may have some political implications. In other words, as anti-corruption continues, more officials will be exposed, and that is not good for the country's development. Economically, China now faces major downward pressure, so that people may worry that the anti-corruption campaign might become a further drag on economic growth. What is your comment on such concerns?

Chen Xiaojiang:

You have raised two questions concerning whether anti-corruption may affect the CPC's governance as well as the Chinese economy. First of all, we should acknowledge that the majority of Party officials are decent ones. Combating corruption and punishing corruption will not affect the CPC's ruling foundation but reinforce it, apart from gaining more popularity with the public. The CPC Central Committee has insisted on fighting corruption in a determined way since the 18th national congress. The achievements are evident enough as to its effect.

On your second question, you mentioned anti-corruption may affect economic growth. As you all know, corruption is a universal problem that has been in existence since ancient times, and exceptions do not really exist. Combating corruption, cracking down on rent seeking of power and purifying the market environment is, in fact, good for economic development. The anti-corruption campaign eliminates obstacles facing the market mechanism and fully enables the market to play a decisive role, which will facilitate the Chinese economy to develop healthily and continuously. Thank you.

Beijing Youth Daily:

What are the CCDI's considerations and plans in deepening international cooperation on dealing with corruption? Is this going to be temporary or a continuous phenomenon?

Liu Jianchao:

We have assumed an active and open attitude in participating in international cooperation to deal with corruption since lastthis year. President Xi Jinping always treats the anti-corruption effort as an important topic in his talks with foreign leaders. As for the reason, we believe that in today's economic globalization trend, corruption transcends national borders and becomes a global challenge that threatens the world's security, development and prosperity. Hence, international cooperation on combating transnational corruption meets all countries' interest.

From launching the United Nations Convention against Corruption to including anti-corruption in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community has shown a consensus and a resolution in combating corruption. In this sense, China should not aloof. We will assume an even more open and enterprising attitude in making more contributions to the international fight against corruption. At the same time, the Chinese government's overseas hunt for fugitive corrupt officials is also an important part of the campaign. We will carry on the Sky Net action to hunt down the remaining fugitive suspects, allowing no room for them to hide, and urging those who attempt to flee to give up the their fantasies. Thank you.

Nikkei:

Some Chinese officials have become quite passive because of the anti-corruption campaign, even with regard to investment promotion and international exchanges. What will be your response?

Liu Jianchao:

We have noticed that such thinking exist in society that Party and government officials become inactive, even unadventurous in their work. But such an idea is not real, one that is an ill-intended, or one that parrots what others say. Improving Party conduct, upholding integrity and combating corruption means to always stay alert and punish those who live by low moral standards and those who violate the Party discipline and the law, while encouraging those who show integrity andare law-abiding in serving the people wholeheartedly.

As my colleagues mentioned just now, the anti-corruption campaign is stimulatory so that it is popular within the Party and with the public. We have always urged our officials to show their integrity and be enterprising, and will relocate those who are mediocre, lazy and sloppy. In doing so, we are pressing the mediocre officials to catch up and do their duty in this time of the economic new normal.

As for the saying that, because of in the anti-corruption campaign, some officials are too timid to seek international business opportunities, I don't really know the reason. In fact, the anti-corruption campaign is purifying our government, and consequently, will raise the confidence of foreign investors. At the same time, our officials will be more confident in seeking foreign capital. Your question contains a pseudo proposition that cannot be justified.

Wu Yuliang:

I would like to add something. Your question does represent a certain voice in society. You intended to point out that the anti-corruption work has led to inaction among some officials. Thinking in reverse, you might want to say that corruption provides more momentum on some officials. If officials' entrepreneurship is driven by corruption, their acts are bound to lead to chaos, which breaks down the market order and social environment.

Therefore, the anti-corruption campaign brings about not only integrity, but also being enterprising, loyal, clean and responsible. That is actually the standard the Party has been reinforcing. Why such sayings exist in society is a complicated issue that we will have to analyze, as we believe some of it intended to confuse public opinion. In the confessions of repentant corrupt officials, we found that linking anti-corruption to inaction stemmed from their own thinking. They wished to see the campaign relaxed, indeed cancelled altogether, because they expected punishment if it continued. We will seriously consider this aspect.

Reuters:

I'm curious if there's been an investigation opening to Ling Wancheng. And there's a report that Mr. Ling is in the United States. Have the US officials been cooperative in working with China on this? Also last year I know that the Party officially ban its members from playing golf. I'm curious if you could comment on this that why golf is seen as such a bad thing. Thank you.

Wu Yuliang:

We are dealing with Ling's case and communicating with the United States.

Luo Dongchuan:

The CPC Central Committee's eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct listed playing golf against regulations as a violation of Party discipline. In the following years after the 18th CPC National Congress, we have exposed and punished several senior officials who violated the regulation. As for what Mr. Wu pointed out just now, the violation of the eight-point decision is still the focus of our investigation after this meeting. We will continue to take early and specific measures even for petty violations and punish misconducts in a strict manner.

CCTV:

I have a question for Mr. Wu. Wei Hong, governor of Sichuan Province, has gone "missing". News of this has recently gone viral on the Internet. With regard to Mr. Wei, a senior official who reports directly to the CPC Central Committee, why has he disappeared?

Wu Yuliang:

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) has aimed to demystify itself with an open and transparent attitude since the 18th CPC National Congress. Frankly speaking, Wei Hong is currently undergoing self-examination for his suspected "severe disciplinary violations". We'll continue to investigate into his case. Thank you!

Bloomberg News:

I have a two-part question. The first part is after so many cadres or officials had been dismissed or come under investigation for corruption, is there a point at which the Party said the problem of corruption is not down to individuals but is a part of a broader structural problem that the Party needs to address in terms of governance? Second, is there likely to be any particular time when the Party thinks the fight against corruption has achieved its expected results and the campaign is no longer thought as a key point in law enforcement?

Xiao Pei:

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, we have dealt with more than 150 high-level official in accordance with the Party Constitution and Party disciplinary regulations. General Secretary Xi Jinping once said that the figure was shocking and distressing. We have to learn lessons from these cases and further seek solutions to address both the symptoms and the root causes. We have to advance reform to improve systems, mechanisms and regulations. Last year, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, we amended the Guidelines on Integrity and Self-Discipline of the Communist Party of China and the Disciplinary Measures of the Communist Party of China. The communiqué issued yesterday said we will amend the Regulations on Inner-Party Supervision, formulate the Regulations on Inner-Party Accountability, and develop proposals on the revision of the Administrative Supervision Law this year. Our work concerns both Party regulations and state laws. The goal is to create an atmosphere in which officials are unable to be corrupt. That is to say, since the current campaign have ensured fundamentally that they dare not to engage in corruption, we should further improve the prevention mechanism to make sure that they can't and don't want to do so.

Under the leadership of the 18th CPC Central Committee, we keep improving the inner-Party regulations. From the eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct, guidelines on integrity and self-discipline, disciplinary measures, regulations on inspection, to other measures to be introduced this year, we have established a framework of inner-Party supervision in general. We are using rules and regulations to ensure the integrity of the Party and deepen the fight against corruption. Comprehensively enforcing strict discipline is for the purpose of strengthening Party building. This will further ensure the Party can continue to provide the strong core of leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Wu Yuliang:

I would like to add something here. We do not have structural corruption. Why do you have this misunderstanding? Because we are the largest political party in the world with a membership of about 87 million. More than 330,000 Party members have been punished as I just said. The number sounds horrible at first, but if you take into account the total number, you will find the proportion small. Besides, of all the punished, some were punished for violating government rules, and some 200,000 were punished for violating Party discipline This made the proportion of discipline violators even smaller. The purpose and nature of our Party is to serve the people wholeheartedly. Our socialist system is one whereby the people are the masters. Corruption is opposed to the Party's purpose and our system. Therefore, the Party has zero tolerance towards corruption. Those violating Party discipline are in the minority. Most of our members are good. You should be clear about this.

Il Sole 24 Ore:

I have a question for Mr. Liu Jianchao. If I understand well, Chinese people who immigrate abroad, they don't lose their hukou. Is this maybe a problem for your activity to catch people abroad?

Liu Jianchao:

Chinese citizens who immigrate to other countries and keep their hukou, according to international laws and China's Exit and Entry Administration Law, they are still citizens of People's Republic of China and will be hunted down and arrested by Operation Fox Hunt under the Sky Net Operation if they have committed economic crimes. If these people are CPC members or government officials, we can arrest them under the Sky Net Operation. There will be no barrier for us to hunt the corrupt officials and reclaim the stolen money and property.

Wen Wei Po:

We noticed that in recent years, several provincial and ministerial officials were punished by vertically degrading their official ranks to very low levels. May we ask what the standards are for such punishment? How have the lives of these officials changed?

Luo Dongchuan:

Vertical degradation is a vivid description made by the media. As for discipline investigation, when we discover those who seriously violate discipline, they will be severely punished according to the Party's discipline rules. For example, their duties in the Party will be removed. They will be put on probation within the Party or expelled from the Party. So, we will also perform significant job re-arrangement as a result. For example, some will be degraded from provincial and ministerial ranks to bureau-level ranks while others will be lowered to section rank levels or even office levels. Such punishments will be given based on the Party's rules and regulations, as well as the discipline punishment rules and the case examination principles. The punishments vary according to different situations. There is a principle which stresses to "learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones" and "help them mend their ways to save them." This kind of punishment (vertical degradation) is also one of the "Four Patterns" proposed by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. We give punishment based on the particular case of discipline violation and then make significant job arrangement. You can find several media reports about this.

Financial Times:

I want to ask some of the specifics about the way in which you would continue to hit both the tigers and flies. It seems you only have limited resources here and in particular to find tigers requires sending out inspection teams to each local area, it requires a lot of people. How can it be possible to continue both at the high level and the low level at the same time? Thank you.

Luo Dongchuan:

We have both central and local commissions of discipline inspection. It is the central commission's duty to fight against tigers, or the high-caliber officials and the local commissions' duties to uncover the corruptions of local violators, such as the officials in provincial, county and village governments. In view of the Party's discipline and mechanism, the subordinate commissions of discipline inspection should be under the leadership and guidelines of the superior ones. As far as I'm concerned, fighting against the tigers and flies will be pushed forward as a whole. We also put forward the"Four Patterns". Applying strict party discipline is the task of the whole party.

Guo Weimin:

As many of the domestic media outlets have searched for the views and comments regarding the anti-graft drive of their overseas counterparts, I asked my colleagues to collect a series of reports concerning China's anti-corruption campaign. Most reports believe the efforts of the CPC in implementing anti-corruption drive for a clean Party have been successful. The movements have drawn great concern from overseas media outlets, most of which give positive reviews of the campaign. A few mainstream foreign media outlets have been following the progress of China's anti-corruption drive, believing the work demonstrates the determination and resolution of the CPC to fight against corruption and consolidate the public's trust and support of the Party. Other media outlets also revealed their admiration when they exchanged their views, saying that China's anti-graft drive demonstrates the outstanding courage and capability of the country's leaders. In light of many reports from developing and neighboring countries, China has effectively fought against corruption which poses a prevalent threat and affects the entire international community. China's anti-graft drive has positively influenced the rest of these countries and offered them precious experience. According to a number of reports, the anti-corruption drive can help improve the investment environment inside the country and benefit the development of overseas companies. Many prominent political figures and pundits worldwide have given high praise to China's anti-graft drive and a few think tanks also published their views regarding the campaign which aims to cut the rampant ties between money and corruption, and rectify problematic economic and social development by stimulating the country's productivity. Reports from several international institutes also show that there are no signs that China should loosen its control over the anti-corruption drive as the campaign must remain constant.

Southern Metropolis Daily:

In the newly revised disciplinary regulations, there is a provision concerning disciplinary action over making groundless criticisms against the major work plans and policy decisions issued by the Central Committee. The provision has sparked some controversy. How should we define and judge the comments, is there any standard?

Xiao Pei:

This expression comes from Chapter Six of the newly revised CPC disciplinary regulation. Less frequently quoted is the second half of the provision: "which undermine unity of the CPC." Our Party can accept criticism, and welcome all criticism, as well as suggestions and advice beneficial to our Party and the whole country. However, there is a bottom line. For fundamental policies and major issues of principle, such as the leading role of the CPC, adhering to socialism with Chinese characteristics, as long as the fundamental policies, theories and paths were formulated by the Party's Central Committee, the entire Party must stay together. By doing this, we can maintain the unity and solidarity of the CPC, which is the boundary. Therefore, to punish those who presumptuously discussed the CPC central committee is to guarantee the centralization and unification of the CPC. Thank you.

Luo Dongchuan:

I'd like to add something. Just now, Mr. Xiao talked about the provision concerning disciplinary action over presumptuously discussing the CPC central committee, which has beena problem we discovered during our anti-corruption work since the 18th CPC National Congress. We used to focus on the corruption issue during the discipline inspection.After the investigation, we found that all these corrupt officials have problems with political discipline, the dominant expression was presumptuously discussing the CPC central committee. According to the Party discipline, senior CPC leaders must stay in line with the Central Committee. However, some officials presumptuously discussed the fundamental policies and principles, which seriously undermined the Party Constitution. The reality shows that the violation of political disciplines has a far worse effect than corruption. Therefore, we have highlighted the importance of political discipline in the revised disciplinary regulations. Every Party member and official must respect this.

China Business News:

I have a question for Mr. Wu. According to the communiqué issued after the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the anti-graft authority has expanded its sights to cover all the major State-owned financial institutions under the direct stewardship of the central authorities. We also noticed the remarkable anti-graft campaign, both in terms of intensity and scale, with regard to the financial sector last year. What will be CCDI's focus in 2016 following the market crash in A-shares last July that captured everyone's attention? I wonder if CCDI will take specific measures in this respect. Thank you.

Wu Yuliang:

The stock market crash indeed arouses wide public attention as it is related to everyone's interests. We have been involved in some cases with officials suspected of disciplinary violations. Broadly speaking, combating corruption is closely related to the financial sector, because corrupt activities undoubtedly deal with certain kinds of secret financial operations. According to the communiqué, the CCDI's anti-graft campaign remains resolute and well-targeted, and that certainly applies in the financial sector. We will certainly continue engaging in deep exploration, investigation and trouble-shooting in a relentless manner as we do in other sectors. Thank you!

Xiao Pei:

Anti-corruption inspections are intended to ensure political soundness rather than monitoring business operations or stock market activities. Our goal is to ensure financial institutions are implementing CPC's guidelines and policies, especially the central guidelines on economic and financial operations, and upholding the CPC's leadership. There should be no problem if the financial institutions conform with the principles of the third, fourth and the fifth plenary sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference, and also conform to the central guidelines for financial operations. We have found that some agencies and institutions still turn a blind eye to CPC's guidelines and principles, something that has been fully elaborated on in General Secretary Xi's major speeches, constituting an essential part of the principle ideas on better governance. Therefore, our inspections aim to uncover any political problems rather than the problems in business operations or stock market operations. We will provide feedback on the opinions collected in the latest round of inspections of central State-owned enterprises and financial institutions and hopefully you can find answers to your questions there. Thank you.

Guo Weimin:

Just now Mr. Wu and other speakers addressed many of our concerns by answering over 20 questions from 15 reporters. The State Council Information Office will continue to play a supporting role in CCDI's anti-graft initiative through press releases and publicity campaigns. We'll provide more information by holding news conferences and interviews for domestic and foreign reporters alike. This is the end of today's conference. Thank you!

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