All central Party and government organs will now be under the watch of inspection agencies in a move to further eliminate blind spots in the intra-Party supervision of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
According to a plan released by China's top discipline watchdog on Tuesday, 47 inspection agencies directly answering to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CPC will be tasked with checking 139 central organs for misconduct.
Inspection agencies are placed in Party and government departments so that the higher-level discipline watchdog can supervise lower-level Party committees and members. The move is an integral part of intra-Party supervision.
The CPC's decision to bring all central Party and government organs under intra-Party supervision, leaving no voids, shows once again its stern resolve to govern the Party strictly in an all-around manner.
There are about 380,000 CPC members in the central-level Party and government organs. Effective management will set good examples for the entire public service system as well as Party members at all levels.
However, blind spots did exist. The CCDI had no inspection agencies in the administrative organs of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, among other central-level administrative organs. Some of the unsupervised organs were quite important.
The CPC has always attached great importance to reforms and innovative changes to the system. Intra-Party governance is no exception.
At the end of 2014, the CPC mapped out a blueprint to reform how and where inspection agencies are stationed.
In January 2015, the CCDI established seven inspection agencies in several central Party and government organs, including the general office of the CPC Central Committee.
Now, the reform has taken one more step, effectively covering all central Party and government departments.
Moreover, the new move also strives to improve efficiency of the inspection system.
Twenty-seven out of 47 agencies will be required to inspect multiple targets, a move designed to guarantee the independence of inspection agencies.
"These agencies have direct ties with only one department but supervise more, which makes them less attached and thus more independent. It's easier for them to focus on their work," said Yang Xiaodu, vice secretary of the CCDI.
The new move is a major improvement to the CPC intra-Party supervision system.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, China has intensified its anti-corruption drive and dealt with a large number of corrupt officials in accordance with law, including some who used to hold very high offices. But the fight against corruption is still tough.
Yang said many of the central Party and government organs are "tainted, and the anti-corruption situation there is arduous and complicated."
However, and more importantly, the intra-Party supervision system is still progressing and will not stall in its reform, providing increasingly stronger systematic support to the anti-corruption drive.
