1.5 million Chinese officials report personal assets

BEIJING - A total of 1.5 million Chinese officials reported their personal property and investments to the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2014.

This year, verification of these reports will be increased. The sampling rate for random checks will be doubled from one in 20 to one in 10, according to a report Tuesday by the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the ruling CPC.

Officials being promoted or appointed to important positions will also have their personal reports scrutinized and asked to explain errors or omissions. If found to have intentionally concealed anything vital, they will be disqualified from their new jobs.

Since 2010 officials at county level and above have been obliged to report their personal information across 14 categories, including marriage, trips, income, property, investments and the job information of their spouses and children.

The system of random checks began last year when the organization department inspected 1,550 provincial cadres and candidates. Checks by local governments covered over 60,000 officials at county level and above.

Dozens of officials had their promotions canceled, including five at provincial-level or above. Clues of corruption or misconduct found in the checks have been transferred to disciplinary watchdogs, the newspaper said.

The CPC organization authority has also ordered that misrepresentations to be lodged on officials' integrity records used in performance assessment and appointments.