Shanxi official calls for stronger anti-graft efforts

Shanxi province's newly appointed organization department head has declared that the coal-rich province "must launch a resolute fight against corruption" as the shake-up of top levels of government continues to resonate through the country.

Speaking at the first plenary meeting with all officials of the province's organization departments in attendance on Friday, Sheng Maolin, head of the organization department of the Communist Party of China Shanxi Provincial Committee, called for all corruption to be rooted out.

Organizing departments evaluate performances of Party officials before they are promoted.

Describing the graft situation as "grim", he told officials to get a clearer understanding of the CPC Central Committee's determination to tackle the problem.

Sheng, 54, a native of Hubei province, was deputy governor of Hunan province from January 2012 until September of this year, when he was named to his new post. He is one of six replacements of organization department chiefs at the provincial level across China since August.

Organization department heads in Jiangsu, Anhui, Heilongjiang and Hubei provinces and Shanghai municipality also were replaced with personnel from other prefectures to avoid cronyism amid a nationwide crackdown on corruption.

According to China Business News, among the total 31 organization department chiefs at the provincial level, 28 are not natives of the provinces where they are now working.

Sheng urged reform of the accountability mechanism of officials' appointment and evaluation, saying that a punishment system should be established to regulate appointments without proper examination, and those who conduct incorrect promotion procedures should be punished.

"Measures should be taken to prohibit corrupt officials from remaining at their posts or even getting promoted," he said.

"The organization departments should play their roles as goalkeepers for appointments of officials" while underscoring the importance of exercising self-discipline for the departments, Sheng said.

The shake-up in Shanxi's leadership began in February. Scores of senior officials were under investigation by the country's anti-graft watchdog for "serious violations of discipline and law", including Vice-Governor Ren Runhou and three members of the CPC Shanxi standing committee.

Sheng's speech came a day before a meeting of the standing committee of the Shanxi Provincial People's Congress announced that eight officials had lost their provincial congress membership.