New agencies to aid anti-graft fight

China's capital city will integrate all anti-corruption resources to strengthen intra-Party supervision in a more effective way, Beijing Party chief Guo Jinlong said on Sunday.

He made the statement during the first meeting of Beijing's work group on a pilot program to form a supervision committee.

Last week, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said new supervision committees will be formed in Beijing, and Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces, aimed at better combating corruption, adding that the program might be expanded nationwide.

The committees will be independent from local government to prevent interference, while members of the committees will be elected by local legislators and headed by the provincial Party chief, according to a China Daily interview with an insider who declined to be named.

Guo said that Beijing has already conducted substantial research into the program according to the requirements of the central government.

"The plan for the new committees is being drafted," Guo said, adding the new committee will begin operations in January.

The CCDI said the committees will ensure full coverage of all government officials and public servants involved.

Li Yongzhong, an anti-corruption expert, said the reform is not only about raising the efficiency of handling anti-graft cases, but it also introduces supervision outside of the governmental administration, which is a big step forward, according to a report on Ifeng, a news website run by Phoenix New Media Ltd.

That the central government chose Beijing as a pilot area for the reform shows its determination to focus on anti-corruption, Li said.

"The experiences of Beijing can be copied in other municipalities."

Last year, Beijing's discipline inspection authorities filed 2,626 cases, a year-on-year increase of 84.4 percent, and it closed 2,279 cases. Up to 2,229 people had disciplinary sanctions imposed on them, while 226 people were sent to judicial custody.

The authority punished 630 corrupt officials whose cases involved total bribery money of 521 million yuan ($76 million).

In addition to anti-corruption, Beijing has been making efforts on other reforms in its legal system.

Jing Dali, head of the Beijing People's Procuratorate, said the procuratorate has established special teams to deal with cases involving national security, public safety, finance and technology, which will handle cases that require special knowledge, adding that the number of such cases has been rising in the capital.