In the same week former top statistician Qiu Xiaohua was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party and from all government posts, the State Council has ordered a thorough investigation into the corruption case involving former head of China's pharmaceutical watchdog Zheng Xiaoyu.

Earlier this month, Wang Zhaoyao, ex-vice chairman of the Anhui provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on corruption charges.

What's more, former vice governor of Guangdong Province Liu Weiming was found to have "seriously violated disciplines" and had been dismissed from the National People's Congress.

The swirl of activity in the anti-graft field as the year opens sends a very clear message that the Central Leadership of China is NOT going to relax its combat against official corruption following the downfall of a number of heavyweights, including former Shanghai Party chief Chen Liangyu, in 2006.

Chen was removed from the post of secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee over the Shanghai social security fund scandal. Liu Zhihua, former vice mayor of Beijing, was also expelled last year from the CPC for abusing office and leading a "decadent" life.

Officials told to behave themselves

The six disgraced officials mentioned above were all leaders at or above the provincial or ministerial level who regularly made national headlines. Local newspapers have also carried stories about the corruption of local officials.

While still insisting that the majority of Party and government officials are clean and honest and that the several-decade-long anti-corruption drive is bearing fruit, the CPC watchdog, the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI), has acknowledged that there are problems with the personal integrity of many officials in leading positions.

Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered an anti-corruption speech on Jan. 9 at the CCDI plenary session with the emphasis on "enhancing cadres' standards in all areas, ideologically, in study, in work, in leadership and in lifestyle."

After calling on officials at all levels to follow the traditional doctrine of serving the people, Hu went on to stress that they must "perform their duties impartially and honestly," and "lead an honest life."

The People's Daily, the country's flagship newspaper, said cadres must remember that China will be a developing country for years to come; even when the country becomes stronger and more prosperous, the party's rank and file should "practice plain living and avoid extravagance."

Ethics education, highlighted in Hu's speech and in People's Daily articles, will play a bigger role in the anti-graft drive in the years to come.

The CCDI has vowed to relentlessly expose collusion between government officials and business people in its battle against corruption.

The CCDI also announced its anti-graft investigations will target officials who "purchase commercial housing at prices far lower than market prices by taking advantage of their posts' influence, occupy and use borrowed houses and vehicles but fail to return them, take part in gambling or seek illicit money in activities like gambling, seek illegal profits by using others to invest in the stock market, or seek other forms of illegal earnings for themselves and their family relatives."

Xu Guangchun, party chief of central China's Henan Province, told his underlings to resist the inordinate desire for money, because "you earn decent salaries compared with most people in our province."

He could have added that corrupt officials will lose more than they get if they resort to illicit activities -- they will lose their personal freedom when they are caught.

From August 2005 to June 2006, a total of 3,128 commercial bribery cases directly involving government employees and 968 million yuan (US$121 million) were uncovered, a recent CCDI report said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2007)