China: 163,000 officials penalized this year

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) – China’s top anti-graft watchdog announced Thursday that 163,000 officials have been penalized this year for violating Party political discipline under a nationwide anti-corruption campaign.

State news agency Xinhua cited a statement from the Communist Party of China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) as saying that among those punished were 41 officials at provincial and ministerial levels, and 96,000 others from rural regions and enterprises.

Since President Xi Jinping launched an anti-corruption campaign in 2013, tens of thousands of suspects have been investigated, including dozens of high-profile individuals at the top of the Party.

According to the CCDI, 336,000 people were penalized last year for violating Party and political discipline, with the cases of 14,000 submitted to the judiciary for suspected criminal activity.