Watchdog reports 41 high officials punished for graft

The ongoing nationwide anti-corruption campaign has resulted in the punishment of 41 high-ranking officials in the first half of this year, the country's top disciplinary watchdog said.

A total of 163,000 officials at various levels were punished during the first six months, including 41 at provincial or ministerial levels, as well as 96,000 others from rural areas and enterprises, the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website on Thursday.

In the first half of the year, 193,000 cases were filed by the CCDI. It said it received 1.2 million tip offs in that period.

As investigations by the CCDI have picked up steam since the beginning of the year, dozens of senior officials both in government and the military have been prosecuted or tried.

Among them, Guo Boxiong, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Com-mission, was sentenced to life in prison last month for accepting huge amounts of bribes.

Guo, 74, was also deprived of his political rights for life and he was stripped of his military rank of general.

The military court ruled that Guo had taken advantage of his position to assist the promotion and reassignment of others, and had accepted huge amounts in bribes both personally and in collusion with others.

General Tian Xiusi, 66, former political commissar of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, was placed under investigation on suspicion of serious violations of discipline in July, the latest high-ranking officer to be held on corruption charges.