Discipline bodies launch website

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Ministry of Supervision on Monday jointly opened an official website, offering the public a new online channel to report corrupt officials.

The website will play a key role in combating corruption by releasing official statements and providing a new means for online corruption reporting, read a notice on the site.

"This is a great move for the Party to push forward the online anti-corruption drive, as it allows Net users to report corrupt officials via a new channel, instead of merely posting exposés on Weibo," Li Danyang, a research fellow on public administration with the Beijing-based Beihang University, told the Global Times.

The website consists of 10 sections, including an online forum where the public can leave their opinions and proposals, as well as ask questions about anti-corruption work. It also outlines the discipline watchdog's structure, giving the public more information on how the agency operates.

"This move indicates that this body is no longer a mysterious institution to the public like it used to be," Li said, adding that in order to be more transparent, the website should publish the reports online.

Wang Qishan, Party secretary of the CCDI and a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, visited the website on Monday, urging disciplinary officials to learn how to use the Internet to combat corruption and use it well.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the new leadership has shown its determination in rooting out corruption and vowed to crack down on both "tigers" and "flies," a description of officials at both senior and grass-roots levels alike who commit major and minor graft crimes.

An anti-corruption plan from 2013 to 2017, passed by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in August, stressed that curbing corruption will be the Party's main mission, calling for severe punishment for officials who breach discipline.

Amid the intensified anti-corruption campaign, it was announced that Jiang Jiemin, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, was put under investigation over suspected "serious disciplinary violations" on Sunday. His downfall is the latest following those of eight officials at the ministerial and provincial level since the Party congress.

"Annually, there are about six to eight provincial level officials investigated on average, and it has been rare to see so many such cases in such a short time," He Zengke, chief of the Institution of Marxism in Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, was quoted by the Beijing News as saying. "This high frequency shows the new leadership is making the greatest efforts in eradicating corruption."