Xi promises harsher anti-corruption drive

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) in Beijing, capital of China, Jan 14, 2014. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on Tuesday to maintain "high pressure" on corruption, warning that this fight is vital for the Party's integrity in the long term.

"Preventing the Party from being corrupted in its long-term rule of the country is a major political mission. And we must do it right," said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, when addressing the third plenary session of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

He stressed zero tolerance of graft and promised to seriously punish every corrupt official being caught.

"Every CPC official should keep in mind that all dirty hands will be caught," he said. "Senior officials should hold Party disciplines in awe and stop taking chances."

In 2013, the Party leadership struck hard on corruption and made major progress, Xi said.

"The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee set the example for inferior officials," according to Xi.

The country brought down both "tigers" and "flies," metaphors for senior and low-ranking corrupt officials, and mounted high pressure on corrupt officials, he told his audience.

The CPC tightened supervision and inspection on the use of power and expanded channels for the public to supervise and report corrupt officials, which earned positive feedback from the people, Xi added.

According to the CCDI, discipline inspection agencies punished about 182,000 officials nationwide in 2013, 13.3 percent more than in 2012. Thirty-one high-profile officials were investigated by the CCDI itself and eight of them were handed over to prosecutors.

The CCDI opened its plenary session on Monday.

Senior officials under anti-corruption microscope

At least 17 senior officials were investigated or dismissed in 2013 by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, the country's top anti-graft watch-dog.