Scrutiny of Party officials invited

The top ruling body of the Communist Party of China urged all Party officials on Tuesday to invite scrutiny and supervision from the public.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee made the decision at a thought-sharing meeting presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

The Political Bureau stressed that "the higher an official's position is ... the more open he or she shall be to scrutiny and supervision", and there is no exception within the Party, according to a news release.

Members of the Central Committee and Political Bureau must get used to working under scrutiny and supervision from other Party members, from members of the public and from the media, the Political Bureau said.

Xi was quoted by the news release as saying that members of the Political Bureau will take the lead in making use of "criticism and self-criticism" to make sure they are always on the right track. He encouraged Party members to speak out against wrongdoing, even when a wrongdoer is of a higher rank.

The Political Bureau had a good record of obeying Party rules over the past year as its members continued to improve their work style and to reduce unnecessary formalities, according to the news release.

By the end of last year, the CPC had 88.7 million members, remaining the largest political party in the world, Party statistics show.