New rules apply to all members of Party

More than 87 million members of the Communist Party of China will face punishment if they are disloyal or corrupt, or if they fail to perform their duty, under a new rule passed at a top-level Party meeting on Tuesday.

An intra-Party accountability regulation was adopted by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee - the country's top decision-making body. President Xi Jinping presided over the meeting.

"The new regulation is a powerful tool to tighten the overall management of the Party," according to a statement issued after the meeting. It said being loyal, clean and willing to undertake responsibility are requirements for Party members, particularly leaders and officials.

Those whose dereliction of duty leads to serious consequences, whose behaviors hamper the political foundation of the Party or triggers strong public complaints will be held accountable, the release said.

Details of the regulation, including what kind of punishments would be applied, were not made public.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the top disciplinary watchdog, said on its website on Tuesday that, as of the end of May, 290 people in East China's Fujian province had been held accountable in an inspection that started late last year.

Problems named ranged from equipping officials with luxurious cars to leaving a piece of land designated for industrial use idle for years. Punishments for those responsible included disciplinary warnings, demotions and firings.

CCDI chief Wang Qishan said early this month that formulating the regulation would send a strong signal to the entire Party that the CPC is serious about the accountability of its cadres.

The Party "must hold people accountable for the transformation from lax and soft to tight and rigid," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency.

Li Yongzhong, former vice-president of the China Academy of Discipline Inspection and Supervision, said the central government's accountability regulation mainly targeted officials back in 2009, but the new rule is now binding for the more than 87 million Party members nationwide.