Thursday's open trial of Sun Zhengcai on bribery charges demonstrates the resolve of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said an editorial to be carried by the People's Daily Friday.
Sun's investigation sent a clear signal that there is no space for "special" CPC members in front of Party discipline and the law, said the article.
Between 2002 and 2017, Sun took advantage of his posts to provide help for certain units and individuals in project procurement, enterprise operation and adjustment of official positions, and accepted money and property worth 170 million yuan (abut 27 million U.S. dollars), either by himself or through "certain affiliated persons," according to an indictment by the first branch of the Tianjin People's Procuratorate.
During that period, Sun served as CPC chief of Shunyi District in Beijing, a member of the Standing Committee and the secretary general of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, agriculture minister, secretary of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Party chief of Chongqing Municipality.
Sun had betrayed Party principles, violated the Party code of conduct and rules and accepted huge sums of bribes, clear evidence that Party governance is still complex with many problems, the article noted.
The Party must pay close attention to its political ecosystem, with high-ranking officials setting the examples, the article said.
The CPC can not give up the fight against corruption halfway, it said.
"As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, our Party must get a new look and make new progress," the editorial read.
The Party has the confidence and capability to become a vibrant Marxist governing party at the forefront of the times, with the wholehearted support of the people and courage to reform itself, it said.
